Wisteria

The word “pretty” is pretty much anathema when it comes to describing music, akin to telling an aspiring writer that something he’s written is “nice.” But, “Wisteria,” the title track on pianist Steve Kuhn’s new album is, in point of fact, pretty, and that’s a good thing here, in a context where pretty doesn’t embody any of the connotations of vapidity sometimes associated with that word. Every track on this release is pretty, especially since Kuhn’s trio (which includes the veteran bassist, Steve Swallow, and drummer Joey Baron) is a tightly melded unit of top jazz guys playing at peak performance power. Kuhn and Swallow trace their musical association back to the ’60s when they played with Art Farmer (the late trumpeter who penned “Wisteria”). Kuhn is extraordinarily nimble, from his brain right down to his fingertips, and his creds are impressive. He’s lent his sense of improvisation to collaborations with Chet Baker, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane,and Stan Getz, among other giants. And the closing track—“Good Lookin’ Rookie”—is a Swallow tune that few jazz lovers will be able to resist. When it comes to jazz pedigrees, this is a class act, all of which is evident on this album, which is pretty, witty and sometimes wise.