One would think that the piano trio format would have played out its creative potential long ago, but there's not a cliche to be found in this lovely recording. A classically trained pianist from Japan who moved to NYC in '95 and studied at the New School, Eri Yamamoto plays with an extraordinary economy that is deceptively simple, and while her melodies are completely engaging, you can see a very complicated, knotty thought process working itself out.

One would think that the piano trio format would have played out its creative potential long ago, but I've got to tell you, there's not a cliche to be found within a hundred miles of this lovely recording. Yamamato is a classically trained pianist from Japan who converted to jazz after hearing a Tommy Flanagan concert, she moved to New York in 1995 and studied under Reggie Workman at the New School, and for the last several years has played two sets nightly, Thursday through Saturday, at the venerable Arthur's Tavern on Grove St. in the West Village with David Ambrosio on bass and Ikuo Takeuchi on drums. She's been heavily touted by Matthew Shipp and William Parker, two men who surely know an original thing when they hear it, though to my ears her playing is in a slightly different idiom than the one they've come to represent. She plays with an extraordinary economy that is deceptively simple, and while her melodies are completely engaging and memorable, you can see a very complicated and knotty thought process working itself out. Such a sensitive, open and airy touch on the ballads, but more than able to summon the fleet and ferocious delivery that the confounding logic of her tunes "Bumpy Trail" and "Water Bottle Princess" demands. So much new jazz I hear these days, both avant and traditional, just seems so freighted and encumbered by the weight of its history, but Yamamato, perhaps by the grace of having come to jazz so relatively recently, doesn't seem to have paid any heed to the past's stultifying effects. And despite the risk of placing that burden around her neck, I can't help but think that she's revived a form and the sense of discovery I hear when I listen to the likes of Herbie Nichols, Paul Bley, Monk, Money Jungle, and Dollar Brand. Needless to say, highly recommended.

-Michael Klausman (April 13, 2010)