For jazz pianist Steve Allee, his trio recording Colors is a multi-faceted modern recording that reflects well on his influences and charts a path toward his own original voicings and shadings. With bassist Bill Mobley and drummer Tim Horner, he has excellent rhythm navigators to help him blaze this trail. It's clear that Allee has listened to more than his fair share of Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett. What is also evident is that he's mixing and matching various subtle and distinct hues to create his own rainbow palate, which is imbued with a wondrous verve and spirit. He can play delicate much as Evans or Denny Zeitlin might during Lucaya, get into a basic but modern modal groove fueled by Horner's clockwork timing as on Bubbles, or utilize a broad dynamic range as he demonstrates during Fishes. There a quiet confidence brewing during the standards Yesterdays and Come Rain or Come Shine, both thoughtfully rearranged and far from stock charts. The most impressive of his originals are the dreamy spirit pieces such as the waltz Changes, the ringing 3/4 melody of Pure Spirit, and especially Tree Stories, replete with a Native American theme over a bed of ostinato bass and left-hand piano unison that is beauty personified. The title track shows Allee's more personal colors, with shadings from late midnight blue in the intro to an oceanic melody of deepest blue-green. This is a fine recording that is more interesting upon repeat listenings, and establishes Allee as a first-rate player who can easily rank with contemporaries Robert Glasper, Jason Lindner, and Sam Barsh. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Bubbles
2		Yesterdays
3		Fishes
4		Changes
5		Lucaya
6		Colors
7		Come Rain or Come Shine
8		Tree Stories
9		Peepers
10		Pure Spirit

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