Claudio Roditi/Klaus Ignatzek/Jean-Louis Rassinfosse: Three for One

It’s a drumless trio on Claudio Roditi’s Three for One (Nagel-Heyer), featuring Roditi on trumpet, Klaus Ignatzek of Germany on piano and Jean-Louis Rassinfosse of Belgium on bass. Roditi contributes four originals, Ignatzek five; “On Green Dolphin Street” is the sole standard, played at a medium clip with solos moving between the keys of E-flat and C. The recording is crisp and intimate, although the material is somewhat middle-of-the-road, and there are times during the swinging cuts when one actually misses the drums. Roditi’s horn does gleam, however, especially on his boppish “Either Way,” his muted ballad “Diana” and his Brazilian number “Sem Falar” (on which we hear his creaky but warm singing voice). The trio also reaches an elevated calm on Ignatzek’s “Waltz for Walter” and the ECM-like ode “Springdale.”

Originally Published January 1, 2004