Yes, that Joe Hunt – the guy who was a fixture with George Russell and Stan Getz back in the 1960s. Since then his appearances on disc have been infrequent and mostly very out-of-the-way; it’s a real pleasure to see him back in the studio. His new trio is unapologetically modelled after the classic Bill Evans trio, and the disc’s program includes “Solar,” “Gloria’s Step” and “Twelve-Tone Tune” from Evans’ book, as well as an homage, “Three for B.E.” In the rather cramped liner notes is a description of pianist Steven Rudolph as “an artist who projects strength and soul within a lyrical framework,” whose “technical ability allows the music to speak to listeners without drawing attention to himself” – if so, he’s failed, because this is playing of a calibre to turn heads. On uptempo tracks he is graceful without glibness, his lines so light and fleet they barely touch the ground; when he plays a ballad such as “Over the Rainbow,” he is expressive but also bracingly clear-sighted and unsentimental. This is Evans with the pep and imagination still present, rather than the kind of innocuous redaction of his style one so often encounters among his followers. Rudolph, Hunt and bassist Steve Meashey make this kind of jazz sound fresh and sometimes (on fast pieces like “Solar” and “The Sweetest Sound I Ever Heard”) genuinely exhilirating. It’s a first-rate disc, and deserves widespread attention among enthusiasts of the traditional piano trio.

Nate Dorward

Cadence, June 2004