Olga Konkova - Improvisational Four: Piano Improvisations Inspired by Joni Mitchell (2009)

Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and based in Oslo, Norway, Olga Konkova is an acoustic post-bop pianist/composer whose influences range from Herbie Hancock and John Lewis to Bill Evans, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett. Konkova, who favors a very clean and crystalline style of pianism, is also comparable to Ahmad Jamal and the underrated Walter Norris. Like Norris, Konkova is known for taking major liberties with familiar melodies -- while other jazz musicians don't really start to improvise until after they play the melody/theme (or "head," in jazz terminology), Konkova starts to seriously improvise the minute her fingers touch the keyboard. Consequently, she can make even the most familiar standards sound fresh. Konkova, who started taking piano lessons at the age of seven, wasn't always a full-time jazz musician; growing up in Moscow, she played mostly classical piano. Konkova studied classical piano and composition at the Russian Academy of Music, graduating in 1993. But not long after that, she moved to Boston to study jazz for two semesters at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Then, in the mid-'90s, Konkova left the U.S. and moved to Oslo (where she married Norwegian bassist Per Mathisen, the brother of saxophonist Ole Mathisen). In the late '90s, Konkova recorded two albums for the British Candid label: Her Point of View (the pianist's first release) and Northern Crossings. -- Alex Henderson