I haven't posted any jazz so far on the MMM, so it was time for a little bit of that.
The classic trio formation (piano, doublebass, drums) is one of my favourite jazz set-ups, capable of both great dynamism and great sparseness. Eric Legnini is a jazz pianist from Belgium who has been on the scene for a good while as sideman but only released his first album under his name a couple of years back. This album, titled Miss Soul features a very accessible yet exhilarating brand of jazz where the groove is king. Legnini cites Phineas Newborn and Les McCann as inspiration, and indeed the tune featured here is a composition in homage to Phineas Newborn.
The Memphis Dude, which opens Miss Soul is a fast paced tune with an intricate and ornemented melody, a deep bass line and busy drumming to keep it swinging. Legnini's playing is very melodic, mostly "in", but it sounds really gorgeous. I love the way this tune combines a level of intricacy and harmonic exploration with a driving groove that makes me want to tap my feet. Rosario Bonnacorso's bass playing is strong and mean here, a key building block in the drive this tune conveys.
Miss Soul really is one of the best albums I bought in 2007 (even though it was released in 2005) and I strongly recommend it. If you liked this bootleg, you can't fail to like the whole thing!
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