Cristina Pasqua

When drummer Tony Williams died of a heart attack on February 23, 1997, at the relatively young age of 51, it was a tremendous loss for straight-ahead post-bop and hard bop as well as for fusion. Williams had numerous acoustic jazz credentials (including his contributions to Miles Davis' legendary mid-‘60s quintet), and his band Lifetime was one of the most important fusion outfits of the ‘70s. The late drummer's fusion side is what electric guitarist Allan Holdsworth, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip (of Yellowjackets fame), keyboardist Alan Pasqua, and drummer Chad Wackerman pay tribute to on Blues for Tony, an excellent two-CD set that was recorded live in 2007…

Alan Pasqua's My New Old Friend is mostly a set of sensitive and relaxed trio improvisations. Pasqua, bassist Darek Oles and drummer Peter Erskine, three of the top jazz musicians based in Los Angeles, perform subtle reshapings of five standards which alternate with six of Pasqua's generally introspective originals. One is reminded of Bill Evans (particularly on the standards) in Pasqua's sophisticated chord voicings and the close interplay of the musicians, but that is only a point of reference rather than a direct copy. However fans of Evans' treatments of ballads will certainly enjoy this accessible and thoughtful effort.

Through the careful and delicate music of his first album "Moon River", Fred Pasqua demonstrates his attachment to the pieces that accompanied his life as an artist. Surrounded by musicians with whom he has already shared musical adventures, the drummer develops a very personal, sensitive and nuanced music whose aesthetic is similar to a light and delicate poetry in line with the image of Laeticia Bourgeois's photo.

On this focused and passionate record, Alan Pasqua is joined by bassist Dave Holland and drummer Paul Motian – two players with stellar reputations who don't appear together often. Motian's post-'70s playing tends to be free and fragmented, but he approaches Pasqua's material with a straight-ahead sense of swing. The leader, for his part, became known as a synth player following his work with the Tony Williams Lifetime in the late '70s, but here his playing and writing are closer to acoustic post-boppers like Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Barron.