Album Review: Distant Voices from David Janeway

Album: Distant Voices

Artist: David Janeway

Label: Steeplechase Lookout

Website: www.davidjaneway.com

 

Distant Voices from pianist/leader David Janeway is his third jazz trio album and the first with his present working trio comprised of Cameron Brown on bass and the legendary Billy Hart on drums.  Featuring nine reworked arrangements and four original tracks penned by Janeway and inspired by his musical influences including Hank Jones, Walter Bishop Jr., Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Ahmad Jamal, Larry Willis, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock, the recording intertwines aspects of bebop, swing, blues, and straight-ahead jazz.

The improvised excursions of Janeway’s keys are grounded by the swinging bass pulse of Brown and pulsating drumming of Hart along Hank Jones’ iconic “Minor Contention,” flexing a tranquil versing through Mercer Ellington’s trademark tune ‘Blue Serge” as Janeway showcases a flare for crafting soothing aesthetics, ideal for cocktail lounge ambiences.  The brisk scamper in the carriage of Janeway’s keys across “Moontrane,” a seminal piece by Woody Shaw, infuses an energetic sprint through the track that contemporizes bebop idioms.  The bluesy tone of Janeway’s keys driving Gary Peacock’s “Gardenia” cauterizes a stream of idyllic expressions that shift to a jaunty bebop lyricism along Janeway’s original work “One For Cedar.”

 

Janeway’s depth of understanding the bebop tradition is praiseworthy.  His expressive and energetic playing is stirring, continually evoking a response from his bandmates.  Mastering his role as a catalyst, Janeway brings out the best in his jazz trio.

Musicians: 
David Janeway - piano, Fender Rhodes
Cameron Brown - bass
Billy Hart - drums