Altered Narratives

Unapologetically cheerful and light, this trio set from pianist Danny Green, bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Julien Cantelm offers up a pop music style of jazz that beams a wide smile that means it. Intriguingly, planted smack dab in the center of the recording are three pieces that bring in a string quartet. The shift in sound is very much plumb with what preceded it, but the emotional impact provided is one that balances nicely with the lighthearted warmth of the trio tunes that surround them. It's the kind of thing that makes a recording a little less ordinary, as well as a motivation to keep giving the album a spin.