Breathing Space

Album Review

Based in Chicago, pianist Ben Paterson and his trio with bassist Jake Vinsel and drummer Jon Deitemyer perform seven standards and two originals on Breathing Space in a conventional but fresh manner. Paterson's trio is tied to the tradition of Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal. and other groups that emphasize subtle and intuitive communication between the musicians while performing chordal-based music, but it does not directly copy any of its historical predecessors and sounds distinctive in its own right. Paterson is a skilled soloist and his interplay with Vinsel is consistently impressive. An inspired repertoire with several songs not performed very often (such as Gigi Gryce's "Hymn of the Orient," "Dancing in the Dark," and Scott LaFaro's "Gloria's Step"), some creative arrangements and reworkings (including a very slow and heartfelt "I Wish I Knew") the first-rate musicianship and the joyful spirit are other reasons why Breathing Space is heartily recommended to fans of piano trios. This groups shows a lot of potential.