Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Roberto Magris: Need to Bring Out Love

Roberto Magris: Need to Bring Out Love

By Jack Bowers
April 5, 2016
View read count

Perhaps the best word with which to describe Italian-born pianist

Roberto Magris

piano
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Roberto Magris is busy. Since launching his career in the late '70s, the fifty-six-year-old keyboardist has performed with a veritable who's who of jazz luminaries in forty-one countries, and Need to Bring Out Love is his twenty-seventh album as leader of his own groups (in this case his American trio). While that may seem a lot of mileage and studio time for someone who's still in mid-career, Magris has never been one to remain inactive for long, physically or mentally, centering his energy instead on what is to come rather than what has already been accomplished.

No matter the circumstances, Magris usually has an over-arching theme in mind, as for example in his recorded tributes to

Elmo Hope

piano
1923 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Elmo Hope,

Lee Morgan

trumpet
1938 - 1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Morgan or

Cannonball Adderley

saxophone
1928 - 1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Cannonball Adderley, or his hard-bop albums with the celebrated American alto saxophonist

Herb Geller

saxophone
1928 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Herb Geller. This time, love —more specifically, the need for universal love—is the prevailing sentiment, as expressed by vocalists Julia Haile and Monique Danielle on Magris' frisky title selection. Love is equally explicit on the tracks leading to that one, "What Love" (clearly based on Cole Porter's perplexing study of the topic) and "Together in Love," the last sung by Danielle. Elsewhere, the subtext is more nebulous but no less earnest on Magris' compositions "Out There Somewhere," "Swami Blues" and "Candlewood Dreams,"

Don Pullen

piano
1941 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Pullen's "Joycie Girl" and

Billy Eckstine

vocals
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Eckstine's "I Want to Talk About You," agreeably sung by Haile.

Magris plays piano like someone who has been doing so productively for quite a while, as indeed he has. He favors elaborate chordal phrases and nimble single-note runs that are as melodically persuasive as they are harmonically precise. While his solos break no new ground, neither are they lacking in elegance or intensity. Magris' colleagues (

Dominique Sanders

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dominique Sanders, bass;

Brian Steever

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Steever, drums) carry out their supporting roles with enthusiasm and a generally impressive level of proficiency. And if Magris' lyric on "Need to Bring Out Love" is somewhat less enthralling than the subject matter, at least his heart is in the right place.

A near-hour of sunlit and pleasing piano-trio jazz (plus vocals), smartly performed by Magris and his crew. Worth a listen.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Out There Somewhere; Joycie Girl; I Want To Talk About You; Swami Blues; Candlewood Dreams; What Love; Together In Love; Need to Bring Out Love; Audio Notebook.

Personnel

Roberto Magris

piano

Roberto Magris: piano; Dominique Sanders: acoustic bass; Brian Steever: drums; Monique Danielle: vocals (7); Julia Haile: vocals (3, 7).

Album information

Title: Need To Bring Out Love | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: JMOOD* RECORDS

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Birdwatching
< Previous

Old Door Phantoms
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.