NEW RELEASES: THEO HILL – PROMETHEAN; MATTHEW SHIPP – INVISIBLE TOUCH AT TAKTLOS ZURICH; ART HIRAHARA – CENTRAL LINE

THEO HILL – PROMETHEAN

Wonderfully romping piano from Theo Hill – a musician who's clearly got some earlier soul jazz inspiration in his style, but who also knows how to warm things up with a bit of lyricism too – in a manner that reminds us of the direction that Cedar Walton took from the 60s into the 70s! Theo has a way of making complex ideas come across with a very natural pulse – and he gets great help here from trio members Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Mark Whitfield on drums – both players who share the same rolling spirit that Theo brings to his piano. Titles include the original track "The Phoenix", plus great takes on "Hey It's Me Your Talking To", "Finger Painting", "Blasphemy", "This Here", "Litha", and "Is That So". ~ Dusty Groove

MATTHEW SHIPP – INVISIBLE TOUCH AT TAKTLOS ZURICH

Matthew Shipp's been an amazing pianist for quite sometime – but occasionally, we'll forget how great he can be – and it takes a record like this to jog our memory! The set is all solo, with Shipp exhibiting an amazing command of the keyboard – really reaching out to shape sound in special ways, and often create these progressions that hint towards melody, but often step sideways into their own sonic territory – free, but never too loose – showing the confidence of Shipp in the direction he's taking the music! And while sometimes such a setting can make us think that the pianist is just winding us up, there's a real sense of cohesion here – maybe almost in the territory of some of the Keith Jarrett live solo improvisations, although each selection here is relatively short. Titles include "Blue In Orion", "Monk's Nightmare", "Intro Z", "Pocket", "Gamma Ray", "Piece Within Piece", and "Fairplay".  ~ Dusty Groove

ART HIRAHARA – CENTRAL LINE

Art Hirahara is a beautifully fluid pianist – one who really won us over with his last album on Posi-tone, and who seems to soar even more here – working in a fantastic trio that includes Linda Oh on bass and Rudy Royston on drums – plus some occasional tenor from Donny McCaslin! Oh and Royston have this round presence that really resonates strongly with Art's piano – creating this wave of soulful energy from the ground up, even on the mellower moments – with a tonal depth that's sophisticated, yet never forced at all. When McCaslin comes into the mix, his sound is a bit more separate from the three – yet in a way that only underscores their cohesion and beautiful sensitivity together. Titles include "Little Giant", "Sensitive Animal", "Central Line", "Kuroda Bushi", "Astray", and a version of the Chico Buarque tune "As Minhas Meninas".  ~ Dusty Groove