PAPATAMUS REDUX

CELLAR MUSIC 042423. (RECORDED JANUARY 2023)

“There’s no place like home” would be an appropriate title for pianist Steve Ash’s latest release on Cellar Music. Not only was the session recorded in the familiar setting of his home, but the eight tunes played on You and the Night feel right at home for Ash, bassist Harvie S and drummr Alvester Garnett. The trio welcomes you into the blues of Duke Ellington’s “I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So,” the angularity of McCoy Tyner’s “Effendi,” the bebop lines of Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl” and the reflective mood of  “For Heaven’s Sake” with effortless and expressive interplay and solos. Recorded by Harvie S, You and the Night is the definitive example of musical partners knowing the right thing to play at the right time. Imagine yourself sitting in Ash’s home enveloped in the warmth and comfort of You and the Night. It’s obvious from this session that home is where the heart is, because there is a lot of heart, soul and joy in this “home-made” recording. 

BOTTOM LINE: Like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces of this new release snap together perfectly — the variety of tunes, the sensitive playing of the musicians, the homelike setting of the session and the crispness of the recording.