Ted Rosenthal - Threeplay (2001)

Pianist Ted Rosenthal joins the Playscape roster with this incisive trio date featuring Dennis Irwin on bass and Matt Wilson on drums. At times Rosenthal's fairly traditional style carries traces of the elegant, bluesy bop lexicon of Tommy Flanagan and Red Garland. The rough-edged rhythms and dissonances of Thelonious Monk are part of Rosenthal's inner being as well, as "Eye on Monk" and an extraordinary reading of "Let's Cool One" show. On the latter, the trio begins close to the original, laid-back tempo and bracingly accelerates to double- and then triple-time. Rosenthal's forceful and yet playful moods lend an effortless beauty to the two standards "A Sleeping Bee" and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." His mellower tunes ("Forever Young," "Madeiran Nights," and "Sisters") are especially strong. The grand, galloping "New Theme," an excerpt from a longer work in progress, is also quite well-developed, as is "Back Up," the angular, Tristano-inspired finale. © David R. Adler