You soon realize that the jazz piano trio format is now pretty universal and adaptable across genres when you hear Papua New Guinea born Aaron Choulai playing a deeply moving 10 minute reinterpretation of folk rockster Neil Young’s Tell Me Why. This, his third CD, Australia based Choulai’s Ranu is a delight of fresh perspectives, airy excursions, romantic ruminations and melodic meditations underpinned by a complete technique and mastery of the tradition – he’s going to be a significant other well beyond the Antipodes. More than ‘ably assisted’, more like ‘partnered by’, full toned, bluesy Sam Anning on bass, check out Bedira, and ever mindful Rory McDugal or Ben Vanderwal on drums, hear Deep Mountain Gone, this trio opens up a wonderfully full rummage bin of over an hour of new moods and atmospheres for the trio lover. He has a lovely contemplative gait on Radiohead's The Tourist and Dreams Of Paper and excels in disguise and near impertinence on the two standards, the deliciously re-harmonised slow You Go To My Head and a jaunty I’ll Be Seeing You with its cheeky extended coda reminiscent of Miles and Wynton on Bye Bye Blackbird at the Blackhawk. The intimate White Scarf is a deeply original, threeway contemplation of space, texture and resonance sounding at times like a medieval courting ritual full of ebb, flow and mystery. Beautifully recorded, conceptually strong and full of maturity beyond his years, the channeled emotion of Ranu is going to be a well thumbed, if digital files can be so, piece of data on my hard drive. It’ll soon be in all your playlists regardless of genre or mood.
Do you remember becoming more and more aware of the transition from winter to spring and feeling that the air smelt different and there was a new quality to the daylight? Ah, Aaron – bringing in the new like a good old soul.
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