*** Bert Seager Trio

RESONANCE

(Accurate)

Boston-area pianist Seager leads one of the most beautifully poised and lyrical trios in jazz (no small claim), featuring bassist Dan Greenspan and drummer Dan Reiser. Seager knows when to let an unadorned melody like Berlin's "What'll I Do" speak for itself. But he can also embellish or extend a theme or enrich it with thick harmonies, as he does with Miles Davis's "Solar." His warm translucent tone draws you in to tunes of his own like "Doloroso" and "Winter Thaw." And even his most elaborate lines are delivered with a crystalline clarity of thought and feeling that lets you hear every detail in the music.

Greenspan is both an artist and a superb craftsman on his instrument -- his every note is perfectly shaped, his time is always right on the money, and his countermelodies complement Seager's. Reiser doesn't force the music; he proposes tempos and dynamics that don't overwhelm the trio, and he keeps them swinging. Everyone in this group keeps listening to what's happening around him, so the music feels like a three-way collaboration, not a showcase for egos.

-- Ed Hazell