Ehud Asherie - Modern Life (2010)

Pianist Ehud Asherie's third CD for Posi-Tone is a delightful mix of standards that aren't played that often, overlooked jazz gems, and his potent originals. Joined by three veteran players, including tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, bassist Joel Forbes, and drummer Chuck Riggs, the native Israeli (who now lives in New York) opens the session with a buoyant midtempo arrangement of Jerome Kern's "I Told Ev'ry Little Star," showcasing Allen's robust tenor. "Trolley Song" has fallen out of favor among jazz musicians since its heyday in the 1950s, but the pianist's driving rendition proves it is by no means dated recast as an uptempo bop vehicle. Tadd Dameron's exotic ballad "Casbah" has a soft Latin undercurrent, backing Asherie's sublime piano and Allen's Ben Webster-like tenor. The late jazz pianist Hank Jones' "Vignette" is another forgotten jewel, highlighted by Asherie's blues-infused solo. Asherie and Allen perform the lush setting of Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" as a duo to wrap this enjoyable CD.