On Playing, keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft continues on the path he took on predecessor IM from 2007. That again means solo piano playing, expanded with effects and sampled percussion and vocals. A difference with the predecessor is that Wesseltoft on Playing almost only touches the acoustic grand piano. Only in the track Dreaming some synthesizer sounds can be heard; the Rhodes piano completely shines
… in its absence. Fortunately, the Norwegian knows how to get much more varied sounds from the grand piano than the average pianist, by also using him as a percussion and plucked instrument. With the help of sampler and delay he gives the well-known standard Take Five an original dub approach. Yet the most striking pieces on Playing are those in which Wesseltoft plays the piano in a conventional way, for example the almost twenty minutes long and very contemplative Talking To Myself and the gospel-like Many Rivers To Cross. Playing is a nice follow-up on IM, but it is hoped that Wesseltoft will come up with some groovy nu jazz project after this. (HB)more
