Live

Recorded for radio at Jazz Middelheim in Antwerp, Belgium, Live finds Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski and his longstanding trio exploring pieces first heard on their 2014 studio album Spark of Life (with the exception of one from 2011’s Faithful). These versions are stretched out and full of fiery invention, with the energy of the audience (even when they’re silent) very palpably present. Bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz join Wasilewski in a moving tribute to the late keyboard prodigy Austin Peralta (“Austin”) as well as a charged and intriguing Police cover (“Message in a Bottle”). Between the poetic lyricism of “Three Reflections” and the compelling acoustic makeover of the ’70s Herbie Hancock classic “Actual Proof,” the pianist spans a wide swath of modern musical language while spotlighting a vocabulary of his own.