"Cooking at the Jazz Bakery"
Jan Lundgren, piano/ Chuck Berghofer, bass/ Joe La Barbera, drums
Fresh Sound Records
Recorded at The Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, September 16, 1996
…..We would do it live! I scheduled this for The Jazz Bakery on Monday
evening, the 16th of September. There could be only one rehearsal – on
Sunday…..Jan had worked with Chuck Berghofer one evening on a previous
visit. He had never met Joe Labarbera. Fortunately, the bassist had
played with Pete Jolly since 1965, and the drummer spent almost two
years with Bill Evans right up to his death. Could you ask for better?
I think not. Jan spent the week before he came – day and night – doing
the arrangements for 19 jazz standards.
In such live recordings, the group normally plays for two or three
nights and selects the best takes. Not here. It was one evening – no
false starts and re-starts. It never entered into my mind that anything
could go wrong. I had heard in two studio sessions that Jan Lundgren is
almost perfect. The trio sounded like it had been playing together
every night for six months.
…..For me, this is an evening of exceptional music by a trio that
was in the sync from the outset. It is a sterling example of one of the
truly great pianists in jazz today…..Jan Lundgren, in my mind, can only
be described with superlatives. Have I given that impression? I surely
hope so.
