There are several elements on Technically Acceptable, the second Blue Note Records release from pianist/composer Ethan Iverson, that would feel equally at home during any point in the label’s storied history. There’s an ample helping of the blues, a tune built on rhythm changes, spirited trio interactions, a reimagined song from the hit parade, even a rendition of Thelonious Monk’s iconic “‘Round Midnight.”
This being an Ethan Iverson date, however, none of those classic idioms are revived without a twist of some kind. The album’s first half, a nearly LP-length trio outing with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Kush Abadey, is balanced on the back end by the first-ever piano sonata in the Blue Note catalog. The blues and rhythm changes are refracted through an irreverent contemporary lens, while the standard in question is the Robert Flack ballad “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” given a 60s pop vibe in partnership with bassist Simón Willson and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza.
And that version of “‘Round Midnight?” It features another Blue Note first, a theremin in the role of the main melodic instrument courtesy of virtuoso pianist and multi-instrumentalist Rob Schwimmer.
Ethan Iverson, Piano
Gonzalo Teppa, Bass
Dru Heller, Drums
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