Bienestan

iTunes Review

Bienestan, features two pianist/composers, Aaron Goldberg and Guillermo Klein. Goldberg is the star soloist and Klein contributes compositions and arrangements, and plays Fender Rhodes. The remarkable drummer Eric Harland and bassist Matt Penman make up the rhythm section, and the saxophonists Miguel Zenon and Chris Cheek appear on a few cuts. “Human Feel” is a hard-driving wonder: imagine minimalism with heat and oomph. “Yellow Roses,” which evokes a mellowed-out version of early-‘70s Weather Report, is a gorgeous piece featuring Zenon on alto and Cheeks on soprano. A couple of versions of the Brazilian classic, “Manhã de Carnaval,” are included: the first brings out the sad undercurrent of the tune in a slow, atmospheric reading, and the second is enlivened with Harland’s rhythmic inventiveness. Two tracks, the motoric “Implacable” and the melancholy “Airport Fugue,” are duets for electric and acoustic piano. Bienestan strikes out in a number of directions; there are also two Charlie Parker covers and a version of “All the Things You Are.”