Various Artists - Felipe Lara: Chamber Works For Strings (Various Artists) - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Trio X is one of Sweden's foremost improvisational groups. The trio's distinctive feature is exploratory and boundary-crossing music, and the experienced musicians find inspiration in many genres. Lennart Simonsson, Per V Johansson, and Joakim Ekberg started collaborating in 2002, and since then they have made several recordings, worked with numerous well-known artists, and toured in Sweden and abroad. Trio X is a multi-faceted ensemble that works with many projects, from concerts in jazz clubs, in concert halls, and at major festivals to classroom appearances. Alongside their public concerts, they also play in healthcare and caring institutions. The musicians also teach and provide inspiration for amateur groups. The present album is a showcase of traditional Swedish melodies.

After more than 30 concerts and many excellent reviews about their first trio albums InchTales From The UnexpectedInch and InchEuropean TrioInch, the Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and the Dutch double bassist Jasper Somsen recorded their third trio album with the Catalan drummer Jorge Rossy InchCommon ViewInch. The new album is an equal and refreshing collaboration featuring these three masters both as performing artists and composers. Three totally different lives, characters and backgrounds collide as one InchCommon ViewInch. Challenge Records produced by Jasper Somsen. Enrico Pieranunzi has long been one of the best-known and appreciated personalities on the European jazz scene. Pianist, composer, arranger, he has recorded more than seventy albums under his own name, ranging from solo piano to trio, and from duet to quintet. He has played in concert and in the studio with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron, Paul Motian, Chris Potter and Charlie Haden, performing at all the most important international festivals, from Montreal to Copenhagen, from Berlin to Madrid. Pieranunzi's formative years embraced both classical and jazz piano, and the influence of Debussy is readily apparent in the rich romanticism at the heart of his music. Emerging in the early '70s, Pieranunzi's lyrical approach quickly brought him to the forefront of the European scene, and in 1984 he formed a trio with Marc Johnson and Joey baron, the first of several outstanding groups with American musicians. In 1989, 2003 and 2008 he was voted Musician of the Year in the Italian magazine Musica Jazz critic's poll and he was 1997 recipient of the Django d'Or Award for best European Jazz Musician. In the recent years Pieranunzi performed and recorded frequently in the United States.

Fapy Lafertin is a leading light in jazz, a legendary figure and guardian of the flame. He is also a great guitarist. Here he fronts his New Quartet represents the cream of the young guard of Inchstring jazzInch in Belgium, with Alexandre Tripodi and Renaud Dardenne (the InchViolons de BruxellesInch) and Cédric Raymond, known for his work with Tcha Limberger, Toots Thielemans etc. The album ranges between gypsy jazz - one of the most attractive, animated expressions of swing in continental Europe - and the choro and fado genres of Brazil and Portugal, whose Atlantic melodies are full of romanticism and sensitivity. The guitarist and his companions, all of them tuneful stylists, here invite us to fly through the air on a voyage that defies gravity.