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Aisha HR

A-Symmetry

33JAZZ137

The easiest way of 'locating' Italian pianist Aisha HR for UK listeners is to compare her with Kate Williams.

Each eschews a showy approach in favour of a style based on attention to nuances of touch, timbre and texture, expressed in playing that concentrates on rhythmic and melodic subtleties rather than wide dynamic variation or dazzling runs.

Here, in a set that juxtaposes originals with material by McCoy Tyner, Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn, Hoagy Carmichael and Earth, Wind and Fire, not to mention an absorbing solo exploration of two Monk tunes (another point of similarity with Williams, who also clearly finds Monk's eccentric rhythmic displacements and quirky melodies attractive), 'Ask Me Now' and 'Round Midnight', Aisha HR showcases a talent for springing what producer David Hazeltine terms 'brilliant melodic surprises'.

He also accurately describes her playing (sympathetically supported by bassist Paul Gill and drummer Joe Strasser) as 'lyrical, expressive and always swinging'. Highlights include 'The Star-Crossed Lovers', through the haunting melody of which HR tiptoes thoughtfully yet with telling robustness; and her own 'Waltzin' in Vernon Blvd', a brisk theme giving rise to a tripping solo of surprising intensity. A fine debut from a pianist to look out for.