Tamir Hendelman – Destinations – Resonance Records

Tamir Hendelman – Destinations – Resonance Records RCD 1017 67:71 ****:
(Tamir Hendelman – piano; Marco Panascia – bass; Lewis Nash – drums)
Pianist, composer and arranger, Tamir Hendelman is starting to shake the foundations of piano trio jazz as evidenced by Destinations, his most current release on Resonance Records. Already established as a member of The Jeff Hamilton Trio and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Tamir Hendelman now embarks on the next step in his career with this imaginative release.
Using people and places that inspired him, Hendelman takes us on a musical adventure that not only showcases his improvisational skills, but confirms that he has a trio that can develop and express his pianistic ideas. The opener “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” starts with an Oscar Peterson style flourish, then goes off in a romping direction as Hendelman shows the way with Panascia and Nash filling-in breaks of support. Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Passarim” is a suitable theme that allows Hendelman to offer an understated interpretation of the composition. The value of having a sympathetic drummer is evident on the Fletcher Henderson piece “Soft Winds” where Lewis Nash’s brushes provide caressing support for the tune.
Much of this trio’s success is due to the inventive arrangements that Handelman provides and uses as the foundation for the striking improvisations that evolve from them. For example Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is an unusual choice for the starting point to a creative re-imaging of this classical work. Hendelman also shows his versatility with two of his own compositions, “Israeli Waltz” and “Babushka”. The former is a gentle tune dedicated to his homeland, and the latter is a multi –layered piece that offers a different view as each layer is revealed.
The Charlie Parker bop touch-stone “Anthropology” is a creative diversion which develops into a master class of trio interplay. One of the Lerner and Loewe standards from the musical My Fair Lady is “On the Street Where You Live”. The band delivers a more measured and less percussive rendition than the highly regarded version given by Shelley Manne, André Previn and Leroy Vinnegar in their 1956 trio recording.
It is clear from this release that Tamir Hendelman is a prodigious talent with a complete command of the keyboard.
TrackList: Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams; Passarim; Soft Winds; Le Tombeau de Couperin; My Song; You Stepped Out Of A Dream; Israeli Waltz; Anthropology; Babushka; On The Street Where You Live; BQE; Valentine
—Pierre Giroux