Recording of the Week,Hakan Başar - Maiden V

After hearing his second album Maiden Voyage, I’m in no position to argue. As far as new piano trio releases go, this is certainly one to pay attention to. Born in Turkey in 2004, Başar has already performed at well-established jazz festivals and venues (such as Soho’s Pizza Express) and performed alongside Jimmy Haslip and Will Kennedy from the Yellowjackets… it’s more than surprising that he’s not received wider attention. But, if anything can put him front and centre, Maiden Voyage will. 

Joining Başar on the piano with great effect is Michelangelo Scandroglio on bass and Bernardo Guerra on drums. Each musician makes their presence felt with lots of scope to shine during exposed solo moments, but the overall ensemble sound is tight and to the point. Maiden Voyage only features one original by Başar and instead favours a selection of already established pieces to comprise the tracklist. You get the impression that it’s less about showcasing his compositional flair and far more about celebrating and reshaping the tunes that have influenced him musically so far. Each of them has been adapted to suit the piano trio set up and Başar’s style, so there’s plenty of freshness present in the well-known material makes up most of the album.  

Maiden Voyage opens with a tune from pianist Michel Petrucciani (whose repertoire Başar performed throughout his teen years) called ‘Chloe Meets Gershwin’. Piano takes the lead and Başar plays with a lightness and subtlety, moving into a more intense and creative solo space before returning to the opening again. It’s a solid opening track, setting the tone for the rest of the album nicely. Oscar Peterson’s ‘Wheatland’ begins softly, Guerra’s brushwork on the drums atmospheric and Scandroglio’s bass solo melodically performed. Pace and technical prowess underpin McCoy Tyner’s ‘Inception’ where Başar certainly demonstrates his mastery and both Guerra and Scandroglio keep pace right alongside him. The momentary snippets of voices that occasionally can be heard in the background here (and in other tracks) only emphasise Başar’s feelings of utter 'in-the-moment' joy whilst he plays. 

Wes Montgomery’s ‘Full House’ develops with a nifty piano riff with plenty of lilt and bounce that tops and tails an explosive and chaotic piano solo section (one of a fair few on this album) and an intimate yet intense bass solo section. The one and only Başar original, ‘Compassion’, starts with a dissonant-sounding three-chord groove, seeing him switching between the Fender Rhodes and the piano in a series of contrasting solos, and there's some brilliantly intricate drumming from Guerra. Finally, the bonus track of ‘Chelsea Bridge’ has Başar adopting the impressionistic piano feel that Billy Strayhorn embraced when he wrote the tune way back in 1941. Başar allows the music to pour from him in this exposed piano solo, drawing from the likes of Debussy and Ravel as easily as he does Peterson or Petrucciani earlier in the album. This was a standout for me: it’s harmonically rich, emotionally driven, and full of delicacy, mood, and atmosphere. Effectively, it was thirteen minutes of completely immersive listening.

Maiden Voyage is certainly a powerful follow-up album to Başar’s debut, and one that demonstrates his indisputable talent as an up-and-coming musician in the jazz sphere. As a newly recruited listener, I certainly look forward to what Başar does next. Like Corea, one cannot help but be persuaded that success is indeed assured.  

Maddy Allison

from  www.prestomusic.com