Josiah Steinbrick - For Anyone That Knows You

Feel a bit foolish for missing this last week amidst the pointless chaos of RSD, so righting that wrong now by pressing some deserved focus on this latest collection of piano etudes and jazz-inclined compositions from the always reliable, Josiah Steinbrick. A good deal of Steinbrick's recent work has been in collaboration, making his solo forays here an intriguing insight to his approach and current muse. Airy, translucent piano playing that makes the obvious nods to Satie, but also possessed of a vaporous quality that's caught between ECM, Japanese ambient composition and some of the more solitary aspects of Keith Freund's Hunter on the Wing. Still, Steinbrick doesn't go it entirely alone, joined here on three tracks by Sam Gendel, a much appreciated pleasure for anyone who heard their Mouthfeel/Serene collaboration. Their work is less abstract this time, Gendel more of a sideman in service here (hence his relative lack of billing), adding texture, tone and ghostly drift to Steinbrick's refined playing, recalling more from the Last Resort orbit, particularly that brilliant Aqueduct Ensemble LP. RSD aside, a beautifully timed release for the coming of spring (should it finally happen).