Michael Wollny: Weltentraum

Standard tunes have always been the common currency of improv, but a new generation of jazz musicians are increasingly turning away from the American songbook in search of material that will connect with contemporary audiences. German wunderkind pianist Michael Wollny takes a wilfully eclectic mix of songs (from medieval French composer Guillaume de Machaut's Lasse! to Pink's God Is a DJ ) and dissects them with a powerful new trio featuring his regular drummer, Eric Schaefer, and ubiquitous US bassist Tim Lefebvre. Amid the echoes of The Bad Plus, Brad Mehldau and EST, there is also a romantic, almost gothic tinge to Wollny's playing that makes for a unique band sound – no mean feat in the well-trampled ground of the piano trio. actmusic.com