In his enthusiastic liner notes, journalist
Peter Niklas Wilson
calls unsung Swedish pianist
Per Henrik Wallin
"one of the great
jazz
pianists of our time." Perhaps he is, and this telling double-disc release should enhance his reputation considerably. The first CD features the pianist in duo with drummer
Sven-Ake Johansson
in a set of ten improvisations, each called a
"Proklamation,"
while
Wallin
leads a trio on the second one in which the focus is on classics from the
bop
repertory (such as
Sonny Clark
's
"Voodoo"
and
Freddie Redd
"Farewell to Sweden"
), sprinkled with originals by
. At heart, the pianist is an angular, somewhat quirky performer, influenced heavily by
Thelonious Monk
, with a foot firmly planted in post-
Monk
harmonies and rhythms. What makes
so compelling, though, is his grasp of music reaching back decades, so that he may, for example, suddenly interrupt an abstract excursion with a touch of
swing
or
stride
, after which he immediately returns to what he was originally doing. The results are appealingly humorous, rather than jarring, as
is never less than tasteful.
Johansson
's off-center drums keep the pianist off-guard, never letting him lull into a preconceived groove. These splendid discs should rightfully attract some attention for
, a long-neglected mini-giant of the keyboard. ~ Steven Loewy