Mother Nature

French pianist Sebastien Paindestre – last heard on the French/American quartet Atlantico's En Rouge (La Fabrica'son, 2016) – leads his own trio in a mostly-original program. The liner notes credit a Fender Rhodes technician, and the opener "Scottish Folk Song" (by Walt Weiskopf) shows why. After introducing the tune on acoustic piano with double bassist Jean-Claude Oleksiak and drummer Antoine Paganotti (with the pastoral sound promised by the title) the Rhodes makes a dramatic entry with a distorted, highly electronic sound. It's very distinctive, almost like a synthesizer rather than a piano, and it brings out an aggressive side to Paindestre's soloing. The instrument performs a similar function on the third track, "Gaza-Paris-Jerusalem (For Peace)." There it is used both as a solo voice and as the voice of conflict during a brief unsettled section. The Beatles tune "Mother Nature's Son" gets a memorable jazz treatment next. The Rhodes is used to play the head, this time with a more conventional celeste-like bell sound. Bassist Oleksiak also gets a nice solo showcase.