Search - Jane Bunnett :: Jane Bunnett & Cuban Piano Masters

Some of Jane Bunnett's most important musical encounters, though, have taken place in Havana. Working without any drummers (the genre's mainstay), she formed a quartet of two pianists (Flynn and Jose Maria Vitier), an acoustic bassist (Carlitos del Puerto) and a flautist/soprano saxophonist (herself) to reveal the chamber-like lyricism of Cuban music. Though it was recorded in Bunnett's home base of Toronto, Jane Bunnett and the Cuban Piano Masters features that Havana quartet. The album is credited to Bunnett, but it's dominated by the two pianists; the nominal leader doesn't even appear on three of the 10 cuts. Flynn still fills his romantic melodies with spry rhythms, while Vitier has more of an orchestral approach to the keyboard. Bunnett thrives on the melodic emphasis of her partners, for she translates their tunefulness into gentle, lilting parts on the flute and soprano sax. --Geoffrey Himes