David Janeway Trio: Live at Blue Llama

STEEPLECHASE RECORDS 34003 (RELEASED MAY 8, 2026)

There are many piano players on David Janeway’s Live at Blue Llama, and Janeway plays them all. At times you can hear the influences of Bill Evans, Red Garland, Les McCann, Ahmad Jamal and McCoy Tyner. However, Janeway’s approach to the music on Live at Blue Llama is more inventive than imitative thanks in part to his sense of rhythmic authority and musical clarity as well as his ability to connect with bassist Richard Hurst and drummer Billy Hart. Together, they put their musical fingerprints on four tunes from the Great American Songbook, two Janeway originals and four jazz classics. Consider their take on Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are.” The trio avoids the standard Dizzy Gillespie opening for a Bill Evans inspired solo piano interlude that, with the help of Billy Hart’s virtuosity, morphs into a high energy Afro-Cuban vamp. Evans’ introspective and lyrical style is integral to the trio’s interpretations of Gary Peacock’s “Gardenia,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Star Crossed Lovers” and Hank Jones’ “A Child Is Born.” There’s a touch of Ahmad Jamal’s “Poinciana” in the trio’s treatment of Gus Arheim’s “Sweet and Lovely,” a tune that begins with a wonderfully crafted extended bass solo. Hurst’s arco bass playing accompanies Janeway on the introduction to his blues-based “K’s Shuffle,” which is packed with soulful riffs ala Les McCann. Janeway’s use of block chords on Sammy Cahn’s “I Should Care” brings Red Garland to mind while the trio adopts a more aggressive stance on Janeway’s “Forward Motion,” Arthur Schwartz’s “You and the Night and the Music” and the medley of McCoy Tyner’s “Search for Peace” and “Blues on the Corner.” Live at Blue Llama continues a tradition Janeway has paved on his earlier trio sessions for Steeplechase Records (Distant Voices, Interchange and Forward Motion) — presenting familiar and original tunes in a way that respects the past but as the title of one of his tunes suggests … with a forward motion.

BOTTOM LINE: Pianist David Janeway continues to mix things up on his third trio outing for Steeplechase Records. Live at Blue Llama is a mix of standards and originals given fresh approaches thanks to the creativity, skill and maturity of Janeway, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Billy Hart.