Ramona Horvath Trio - Absinthe

The first time I heard Ramona Horvath I was struck by her style and sound close to Evans, Hancock, Corea, Jarrett, as if the whole history of jazz piano could be summed up in those musicians. Upon hearing Ramona, one quickly realizes that her influences are quite different. She very well knows the jazz piano tradition, and along with a consummate mastery of the instrument and a solid background of the romantic impressionist piano, she features a very singular cocktail of references on which she builds her language. In her playing one can also feel the legacy of her teacher Jancy Korossy, a jazzman of great stature who would have deserved a much greater diffusion in his lifetime.

In the recording, Ramona is backed up by a solidly entangled trio with Nicolas Rageau on the double bass and Antoine Paganotti at the drums, who address very well the different musical atmospheres that Ramona provides. The album presents a daring repertoire, in which two sessions are combined: One offers an approach of the pop melodies that marked Ramona’s childhood, but played in her own jazz language; in the second session, the trio benefits from the lyricism and impeccable taste of the great saxophonist André Villéger, and presents little known melodies signed by greats like Billy Strayhorn, Kurt Weill or Harry Warren.

No doubt a jazz album from beginning to end that you will surely be listening to more than once.

—Ignasi Terraza