April 1997

Phil Markowitz
In the Woods
Passage Records

By Nancy Ann Lee

Pianist Phil Markowitz is an all-around musician who consistently works with world-class innovators, teaches, composes and leads this tidy straight-ahead trio with Roy Cummings (acoustic bass) and Glenn Davis (drums). On his fourth outing as leader, Markowitz introduces three originals and reinvents five standards. Not a bombastic or flashy ivory-tickler, Markowitz concocts heady, spirited, and ear-pleasing tunes. A radiant session that gives each musician fuel to percolate.