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A Bu Trio with Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland: One Step East

By Karl Ackermann
April 3, 2021
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A Bu Trio with Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland: One Step East

Pianist/composer

A Bu

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">A Bu, whose given name is Dai Liang, has outgrown the "child prodigy" tag but not the attributes. A student at Central Conservatory in Beijing, and later at Juilliard, he was influenced by a meaningful meeting with

Chick Corea

piano
1941 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Chick Corea at the age of thirteen. Corea performed in Shanghai, where he invited A Bu onto the stage to play an improvised duet. The Beijing native released his first album, 88 Tones of Black and White (Sennheiser Media, 2015), at the age of sixteen. In 2020 A Bu issued his first solo album, Live At Beijing Poly Theater (Self Produced), and he now teams with bassist

Larry Grenadier

bass, acoustic
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Grenadier and drummer

Eric Harland

drums
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Harland for One Step East.

As the title implies, the album is meant to represent a melding of Eastern and Western influences, most clearly heard on the hard-bop title track, but more often, it's a philosophical approach. A Bu covers several standards referencing the

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett Trio repertoire with "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "Somewhere." The best of the pianist's cover work is a languid, bluesy reading of

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" and a fresh interpretation of

John Lennon

guitar and vocals
1940 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">John Lennon's "Jealous Guy." Grenadier and Harland bring a lively, sophisticated feeling to "Waltz in Minor" and the bassist's duo with A Bu on "Ballade 2" is a highlight of the album. The trio is superb in their version of a popular Chinese rock song, "The Lost Season," a reflective and elegant piece that brings to mind the

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans trio.

A Bu won first prize in the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition in 2015. Now, only in his early twenties, he is well on his way to developing a personal style. As a musician he has demonstrated remarkable maturity and talent, sharing stages with

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock,

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter,

Igor Butman

saxophone, tenor
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Igor Butman,

Brian Blade

drums
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Blade, and many others. It is a long haul for a Chinese artist to leave his or her mark on the Western jazz markets, but with each A Bu release, it becomes inevitable that the pianist will make his name in the wider jazz world.

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Track Listing

Someday My Prince Will Come; One Step East; Somewhere; Jealous Guy; Prelude XIX; The Lost Season; Oriental Interlude; Ballade; Waltz in Waltz; Ballade 2; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.

Personnel

Larry Grenadier

bass, acoustic

Eric Harland

drums

Additional Instrumentation

A Bu: Piano.

Album information

Title: One Step East | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Jz Music

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