A bit more traditional in feel (for what we tend to share here, anyway) but this is a really great set! Cohen dusted off some older forgotten material here and added a few compositions of his own. I don't know if the album does anything for stride as a technique but Cohen's performance is just killer throughout (not to mention the ensemble as a whole).

Emmet Cohen - piano
Russell Hall - bass
Kyle Poole - drums

Mostly piano trio w/Melissa Aldana (sax) and Marquis Hill (trumpet) showing up for a few tunes.

Favorite track I think is Dardanella. Simple, immediately memorable melody (kind of reminds me of "Poinciana", the Ahmad Jamal tune) but Cohen just runs it through a host of variations and a range of feeling and style --- from fun to tender/sweet, simple to virtuosic. They let loose for about the last third of the tune, too, and remind you how full a piano trio can sound. It might be a bit kitschy but it's undeniably effective and I keep going back for more.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~