An Israeli-born pianist steeped in classical and post-bop traditions, Shai Maestro has worked with a bevy of progressive artists, including bassist Avishai Cohen, guitarist/singer Camila Meza, and vocalist Theo Bleckmann. He has also garnered attention for his own delicately textured trio albums, including his eponymous 2012 debut and 2018 ECM album The Dream Thief. Maestro further expands this approach on his sophomore ECM outing, 2021's Human. Once again joining Maestro are his globally-minded trio bandmates Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder and Israeli drummer Ofri Nehemya. Also coming on board here is Miluwakee-born trumpeter Philip Dizack. The 2005 winner of the Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition and a semi-finalist of the 2007 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition, Dizack is an immensely adept improvisor with a style that straddles the line between the fluid impressionism of Miles Davis and avant-garde motifs of Kenny Wheeler. Together, they play a deeply atmospheric brand of jazz well-suited to the ECM style. Some tracks, like "GG" and "They Went to War" are languid, far-eyed ballads evoking the painterly work of artists like Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley. Others are more lively, and tracks like the gently rambling "Mystery and Illusions" and dancerly "The Thief's Dream" display Maestro's knack for briskly adventurous improvisation. We also get a dazzlingly buoyant take on Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" in which Maestro transforms the usually languorous ballad into a kinetic burst of pointillist group interplay. There are also a handful of gorgeous and dusky cuts without Dizack, including the dreamy "Compassion" and warmly-delivered ballad "Hank and Charlie" that further illuminate Maestro's harmonically nuanced skills. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

1		Time
2		Mystery and Illusions
3		Human
4		GG
5		The Thief's Dream
6		Hank and Charlie
7		Compassion
8		Prayer
9		They Went to War
10		In a Sentimental Mood
11		Ima (For Talma Maestro)

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