And we had some special experiences playing on Shades of Jade and again on this album. He is amazing at portraying the character of a composition in his improvisations.” Elias adds: “As a composer, it’s very satisfying the way that Joe incorporates a melody of a piece into his improvisations and shapes it. “Joe has such a beautiful sound and is a consummate improviser, a player who is so quick to suss out the essence of a tune. Marc Johnson first met Lovano in the late-’70s Woody Herman band. The pianist played with Brecker at the start of her career, when she was a member of Steps Ahead, and he worked with her on several projects afterward. Lovano enters with the second track, the blue-hued, valedictory-feeling “It’s Time.” Elias’s tribute to the late Michael Brecker. “I love the impetus he gives the music, how swinging he is, how creative.” Marc points out that in “When the Sun Comes Up,” he anchors the quarter-note pulse while “it is Joey giving shape to the music, bobbing and weaving along with Lovano but never losing that beautiful sense of implied time.”

“Joey and I share a lot of the same references and rhythmic sensibilities,” Johnson says. Throughout the album, bassist and drummer demonstrate a kindred-spirit feel, the pair having known each other since the early ’80s. On their own, Elias, Johnson and Baron constitute a working piano trio, having recorded together live and in the studio. Elias’s rocking, Eastern-tinged “One Thousand and One Nights” is a highlight, as is Johnson’s evocation of after-hours atmosphere, “Midnight Blue.” The album closes with the bassist’s solo treatment of the old American folk song “Shenandoah,” a poignant remembrance of his family from the Midwest. The album emphasises melody-rich Elias compositions, ranging from the easy-flowing lyricism of “B Is for Butterfly” to the romanticism of “Moments”.

I think you can hear it in the music’s openness and lyricism.” Nature is closer, and you can really see the changing of seasons. “But we have a very different sort of relationship to sound out there, one that finds its way into the feel of the writing.” Johnson adds: “There is definitely a feeling of quietude and space there that is inspiring for us. “I’ve written music in the bustle of Manhattan, on airplanes, every hectic sort of place,” Elias says. There is also a spacious feel to “Swept Away” which stems from the environment in which much of it was written, the home Johnson and Elias share in the Hamptons, New York. Marc Johnson – bass, Eliane Elias – piano, vocals, Joe LaBarbera - drumsĭouble bassist Marc Johnson, pianist Eliane Elias, drummer Joey Baron and saxophonist Joe Lovano commune in music-making that is engaging, sensuous, poetic, and swinging.

Marc piano prodigy