Dave Bass - Trio Nuevo, Vol. 2 (2025)

This is a splendid, joyful, intriguing album. A captivating vitality and melodic intensity marks Dave Bass's piano playing. He immerses himself in each piece, which draws the listener in and carries them forward. The tight synergy between Tyler Miles (bass) and Steve Helfand (drums) drives the music. The musical selections span diverse jazz composers: Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Wayne Shorter. The rhythms range from Latin and straight-ahead bop to Cuban. This variation in theme and mode is evident throughout, where each track, from "Lester Left Town" onwards, possesses its own unique shape and feel.

Dave Bass has a remarkable story. He transitioned from a high-level legal career to jazz and then back to a high-level legal career. In his earlier playing experiences, jazz luminary George Russell and legendary piano teacher Margaret Chaloff, mother of baritone player Serge Chaloff, influenced his playing and writing.

"Lenny's Pennies," by Lennie Tristano is based on "Pennies From Heaven," is an exhilarating journey through the nineteen forties avant-garde, demonstrating its complete relevance to today's music. The rendition of Monk's composition is based on the trio version, not the recording with John Coltrane.

Tyler Miles's bass work showcases the instrument's rich, woody heart and the sinewy flexibility of the strings. His powerful playing is evident in how he supports and complements Steve Helfand's driving rhythms. Their teamwork is undoubtedly a significant factor in the album's success.

Classical influences are clear in "Journey With Bach." Bass also notes that Bartók's Second Piano Concerto inspired his composition "Heart Above My Head." This obvious intellectual underpinning provides a strong foundation for the music. "Frevo" is a composition by Egberto Gismonti, featuring a particularly exhilarating bass solo. Dave Bass's reading of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude inspired "Melquíades." According to Bass, Latin rhythms are part of his DNA, and in "Latin Journey," he masterfully combines music by Isaac Albéniz and Ernesto Lecuona with one of his own compositions.

Scott Gordon, who recorded and mastered the album, deserves significant credit. The excellent sound quality and balance greatly enhance the music, and Gordon perfectly captures the ringing, pinging splendor of the cymbals. This album serves as a reminder that jazz can encompass a wide range of aspects, with sheer pleasure being a prominent one.

Like fine wine, Dave Bass has used his unusual career path to mature. His improvisations are subtle, complex, and rewarding, benefiting from their underlying structure. What he learned from his early career enlivens his current musical expression.