MIke Catalano - A Trio Affair (2026)

Tracklist

01. Night Side Up
02. Bluesy
03. Remember When (Marcio's Theme)
04. Bossa Avenue
05. Moon over Manhattan
06. Just a Little Samba
07. Dois Corregos
08. Take Me Back to Rio
09. Lembra De Mim
10. Mission from Gadd
11. Christmas Time Is Here

For Mike Catalano, A Trio Affair is more than simply another album. It closes a musical circle that began almost four decades ago with A Rio Affair in 1989 and continued with A Manhattan Affair in 2007. The three records trace Catalano’s long-standing fascination with the meeting point between New York jazz and Brazilian music – two worlds that have clearly remained central to his musical identity throughout a career that has also taken him into television, film and commercial composition.

A New York pianist and composer with classical training, Catalano developed an early passion for bossa nova and travelled extensively to Brazil, eventually recording in Rio and even meeting one of his great musical heroes, Antônio Carlos Jobim. His career subsequently took a rather different route, with his compositions becoming familiar to millions through Fox television programmes including A Current Affair and Good Day New York. Yet jazz and Brazilian music have remained the thread running through his own recordings, and A Trio Affair feels like a deliberately reflective return to those roots.

The real selling point here, however, is the company Catalano keeps. Most significantly, this album expands his forty-year musical relationship with Steve Gadd, who appears on six tracks. Gadd’s presence alone brings enormous rhythmic personality and subtlety, while Eddie Gomez, Will Lee and Clint De Ganon provide alternative combinations of heavyweight bass and drum power. Add Randy Brecker, Blue Lou Marini and arranger Rob Mounsey to the equation, and this is undeniably an impressive gathering of musicians.

There are plenty of enjoyable moments. “Night Side Up” takes a welcome turn towards straight-ahead jazz, with brushes, horns and a distinctly old-school New York atmosphere. “Remember When (Marcio’s Theme)”, written in tribute to the late Brazilian trumpeter Marcio Montarroyos, benefits from Brecker’s presence and Mounsey’s orchestral touch, while “Bossa Avenue” delivers exactly what its title promises: warm, Jobim-inspired piano, nylon-string guitar and an easy Rio groove.

The trio material is arguably the album’s strongest feature. “Just A Little Samba”, with Gadd and Gomez, has a natural, relaxed chemistry, while “Mission from Gadd” gives Will Lee and Gadd space to lock into a funky waltz. “Moon Over Manhattan”, meanwhile, reaches for the sophisticated melancholy associated with Bill Evans and Claus Ogerman.

Despite the pedigree and professionalism, A Trio Affair rarely catches fire. Everything is expertly played, tastefully arranged, and impeccably produced, but too much of the album stays in a comfortable middle ground. Catalano’s melodic instincts are unquestionable, but one occasionally wishes for greater risk, more improvisational abandon or simply a little more grit.

Still, this is an affectionate and polished conclusion to a remarkably long musical trilogy. The playing is never less than excellent; it just doesn’t always generate the spark that such an extraordinary cast of musicians might lead you to expect.