kev rowland
Frenchman Roger Davidson (piano) and his trio of Eduardo Belos (bass) and Adriano Santos (drums), have been joined on this release by Hendrik Meurkens who provides two quite different musical embellishments by providing harmonica and vibraphone. Recorded live at the Zinc Bar in NYC last year, this collection of twelve new songs shows Roger combining his love of both jazz and Brazilian music, in a way that is both fresh and interesting. When someone has been so involved in these cultures for as many years as Roger, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the joining together of the two is seamless and faultless. He has a deft touch on the piano, and given that he has studied both orchestral and choral conducting it is also of no great shock that the arrangements are perfect for the occasion.
This is music that is living and breathing, each musician providing the others with the room they need to provide support to the main theme or to solo and improvise, whatever is right for the moment. It is laid back and reflective, music to get lost inside of, but even though the tempo may be often languid and the notes and chords meandering gently through the sun-kissed meadow, it is always something to be immersed in and never something that is boring. Beautiful and delicate, a joy from start to finish with South American inflections and tones that set this style of jazz apart.