Search - Bobo Stenson :: War Orphans

Taking its title from an Ornette Coleman tune, pianist Bobo Stenson's latest ECM recording has a burnished feel. Stenson, now a marquee member of saxophonist Charles Lloyd's quartet, immerses himself in the open spaces of this CD, which moves at a deliberate, low-lit pace common among many ECM releases. Stenson, though, enjoys playing sharply-sculpted notes and chords as ripostes to the open expanses, and he plays two lesser-known Ornette Coleman tunes---"War Orphans" and "All My Life"---with an electrifying touch. The finest gem here is Duke Ellington's aptly named "Melancholia," for its fine slow motion and dark colorings. --Andrew Bartlett