Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Frank Harrison Trio: Lunaris

Frank Harrison Trio: Lunaris

By Dan McClenaghan
June 4, 2014
View read count

London-based pianist

Frank Harrison

piano
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Harrison is probably best known for his work backing saxophonist

" data-original-title="" title="">Gilad Atzmon, but his Lunaris should help to raise his profile as a major league piano trio guy. It's Harrison's third recorded effort in the trio format, and it stands out in a crowded field full of talent.

Harrison and the trio go against common advice and open with a ballad, a solemn, tender, gorgeously spacious take on David Raksin's tune from the 1954 movie Apache, "My Love and I." It's not the most familiar of Great American Songbook compositions, but saxophonist

Coleman Hawkins

saxophone, tenor
1904 - 1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Coleman Hawkins put it on display on his Today and Now (Impulse! Records, 1963), and bassist

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden covered it with his Quartet West on Sophisticated Ladies ( Decca Records, 2011). Harrison, bassist

Dave Whitford

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Whitford and drummer Enzo Zirille slow it down to a sensual crawl, wringing every drop of beauty from the melody. Don't open with a ballad unless you can do it this well.

The much covered "I'm Old Fashioned" rides a rhumba groove.

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett and his Standard's Trio gave the same treatment to "Poinciana" on their Whisper Not (ECM Records, 2000) set, and here it acts as a perfect step-up-the-pace, brighten-the-room follow-up to the opener.

"Stars" is an abstract Harrison original, a solo piano effort, with delicate notes flashing like celestial lights blinking on in a dark sky, followed by what must be trio improvisation, the enigmatic "An Evening of Spacehips and UFOs," to let us know this isn't going to be a straight-though standards album—there's going to be more mystery and exploration here. The tune wanders in deep space until a gravitational pull asserts itself, drawing the trio into a groove. The Harrison original, "Io" (one of the planet Jupiter's four Galilean moons) has a subtle, eerie sheen added to the composition's majesty by the addition of Harrison's synthesizer colorings. "Sunrise (Port Meadow)" is bright and hopeful. "BoRG-58" is a prickly, muscular trio improvisation. Johnny Mandel's "Emily" has never sounded lovelier or more lively, with exceptional trio interplay, leading into the disc's closer, Harrison's solo "Stars II," a brief, lean, beautiful rumination.

Lunaris is a marvelous piano trio outing—fresh takes on some of the standards and a bunch of forward-leaning originals by piano star on the rise.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

My Love and I; I'm Old Fashioned; Stars; An Evening of Spaceships and UFOs; Io; Sunrise (Port Meadow}; Ascent; The Bird; BoRG-58;The Recruited Colier; Emily; Stars II.

Personnel

Frank Harrison

piano

Frank Harrison: piano, synthesizer; Dave Whitford: bass; Enzo Zirilli: drums.

Album information

Title: Lunaris | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Linus Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

No Pews Required: Chris McDonald Jaz...
< Previous

America The Beautiful
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.