STEVE KUHN TRIO: Quiéreme mucho

STEVE KUHN
Steve Kuhn é um veterano e competente pianista de jazz, com serviços prestados a grupos de luminares como John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, etc. Neste álbum, lidera um trio, com David Finck no contrabaixo e Al Foster na bateria, tocando boleros e temas latinos, devidamente adaptados ao "straight jazz" - idioma que Kuhn domina com perfeição.
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STEVE KUHN
Born on March 24, 1938 in Brooklyn, NY, Kuhn grew up in Boston, and started piano lessons at the age of five. He later studied the "Russian Technique" with Serge Chaloff’s mother in the early ‘50s, and was performing professionally by the time he was thirteen. After graduating from Harvard University in 1959, he studied at Lenox School of Jazz, where he met trumpeter Kenny Dorham, who hired him as a sideman. Kuhn later joined John Coltrane’s quartet as his first pianist, from May to June of 1960, before McCoy Tyner took over the keyboard chair. He also worked with Stan Getz, Charles Lloyd, Art Blakey, and Art Farmer until the mid-‘60s. During this fertile period, he formed his first trio with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Pete LaRoca, and released his first recordings as a leader including: The October Suite: Three Compositions of Gary McFarland (1965, Impulse!), and Steve Kuhn in Europe (1966, Prestige). Kuhn released many critically acclaimed recordings on the ECM label from Trance (1974) and Last Year’s Waltz, with Sheila Jordan (1981), to Promises Kept (2004). He also
recorded for the New World, Black Hawk, Owl labels. Writing in The New Grove Encyclopedia of Jazz, Paul Rinzler and Barry Kernfeld wrote," … Kuhn’s style ranges from bop to modal jazz and encompasses impressionistic playing and dissonant harmony; he takes a quasi-orchestral approach to the keyboard." Kuhn’s
impressive and encyclopedic approach is aurally evident on this splendid date.
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ALBUM REVIEW
Jazz is not only about improvisation. It’s also about idiomatic transformation, the ability to transform the musical and cultural identity of a song. For over five decades, pianist/composer Steve Kuhn has reigned supreme as one of the Music’s most open-eared and imaginative musicians. On his new CD, Quireme Mucho, the follow-up to his 2003 Sunnyside release Love Walked In, Kuhn – along with drummer Al Foster and bassist David Finck -- changes the sonic and syncopated citizenship of six classic Latin American compositions by Ernesto Lecuona,
Miguel Prado, Osvaldo Farres, Gonzalo Roig, and Consuelo Velazques, into swinging, modern jazz. As everyone knows, Latin rhythms have always been involved in jazz, ever since Jelly Roll Morton talked about the importance of the "Spanish Tinge" in the early Twentieth Century. Kuhn’s propulsive, yet poetic pianisms, buoyed by Foster’s thick and elastic drum licks and Finck’s rocksteady basslines, except for the pretty, bolero take on Roig’s title selection, extend, elaborate, and refine the South-of-the-Border signatures of these splendid songs, not with tired, "Latin jazz" phrases, but with inspired neo-bop intelligence. Lecuona’s "Andalucia," and "Siempre En Mi Corazon," dance with an uptempo, Art Blakey/Jazz Messenger! bounce. Prado’s "Duerme," Farres’s "Tres Palabras," and Velazques’s much loved "Besame Mucho" are also treated with rhythmically riveting and melodically romantic readings.
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La última grabación del pianista Steve Kuhn, Quiéreme Mucho es el ejemplo consumado de la capacidad de un trío de capturar la armonía discreta, los ritmos, y las melodías. En este caso, el formato "menos es más" no traduce en vileza. Al contrario, Quiéreme Mucho es fresco, enérgico, y una maravilla de buen gusto. "Andalucia" abre el disco; una melodía tipo "el paseo en el parque", por el cual Kuhn, David Finck (bajo) y Al Foster (batería) engranan en un diálogo musical, que demuestra su inclinación para desafiarse uno al otro, pero con cohesión y compasión. Finck tiene un paso de tiempo muy activo, y Foster proporciona una performance que sorprende, ambos complementando la excelente armonía de Kuhn. "Siempre En Mi Corazón" y "Tres Palabras" son ejemplos de la expresión meticulosa y lírica de Kuhn. "Quiéreme Mucho" pinta un cuadro tropical, que en gran parte es atribuido a Finck y Foster, mientras Kuhn proporciona acentos suaves alrededor de la melodía. Mientras el disco entero es magníficamente trabajado, esta pista es una de sus más brillantes. El estándar, "Bésame
Mucho", muestra la capacidad de la banda para realizar un swing con fuerza. El ritmo corredor, creado por Finck, desafía a Kuhn y Foster y los empuja hacia adelante. Entonces, como diciendo, "Ok, es mi turno", Kuhn avanza sobre la melodía, desafiando a sus colegas. El resultado es un vivificante ritmo marcado con el pie, con fuerza en la conducción. En general, Quiéreme Mucho es una maravillosa suma al cánon del jazz y otro recordatorio de que el formato de trío está "vivito y coleando". Aparte de las hermosas selecciones, la versatilidad y la capacidad de la banda de capturar imágenes etéreas es razón suficiente para hacer de Quiéreme Mucho parte de su biblioteca musical.
Fuente: Eddie Becton - www.thelamp.ca
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MINHA OPINIÃO
O Eddie Becton avaliou, com precisão, cada faixa do álbum, mas passou ao largo de um detalhe essencial: Steve Kuhn entrou na contramão do que, usualmente, acontece - ou seja: em 99% dos casos de fusão "jazz-latin jazz"  os temas (normalmente "standards") são adaptados aos ritmos latinos. Entretanto, SK pegou temas latinos e os adaptou ao "jazz straight ahead", eliminando todo e qualquer resquício de "latinidad": a única exceção é o bolero "Quiereme mucho". Destaco a presença do grande DAVID FINCK, que é o contrabaixista norte-americano mais bem preparado para tocar latin-jazz e bossa-nova. DF assimilou completamente as "manhas" dos "tumbaos", "claves" e divisões da BN e tem total intimidade com esses ritmos. Al Foster dispensa comentários: é outro músico extraordinário. A "pegada" do Trio é vigorosa, mantendo alta a temperatura deste
excelente álbum. BELEZA!
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STEVE KUHN TRIO: Quiéreme mucho

PERSONNEL:
Steve Kuhn - piano
David Finck - bass
Al Foster - drums

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1. Andalucia   
2. Besame Mucho   
3. Siempre En Mi Corazon
4. Duerme   
5. Quiéreme Mucho
6. Tres Palabras