An album full of fine original writing and natural flair rounded off by a lightly swinging ‘Pannonica’, the tune Monk played on celeste with the quintet on classic album Brilliant Corners. There’s no celeste or quintet here, pianist Andrew McCormack, formerly London-based now in New York and whose most recently released album is Juntos encountered here instead in trio mode in the company of NYC-based Montréal double bassist Zack Lober and drummer Colin Stranahan who matches the Troy Miller sound admirably, an approach that McCormack has responded to so well in different playing situations. The tunes are very good, ‘First Light’ the pick, if push were to come to shove. Maybe the ballad will sit within the McCormack songbook in the future the way ‘Blue in Green’ does in Bill Evans’ body of work. The lived-in Mike Marciano sound does justice to the high quality of the musicianship. SG