Francesca Han Trio “Icarus”
(Audioguy 2015)
Francesca Han – piano
Sunyong Lee – bass
Dongjin Shin – drums
Francesca Han’s CD has a smart, rounded and appealing approach to the piano trio unit. With a mixture of elegance and energy, the trio delivers ten originals that are a pleasure to listen to. “Study 37” starts out musing, thinking, finding ways in to the music, and then locks into the most intense direction. It’s the perfect first song on a collection of thoughtful, interesting pieces.“Beneficial” and “Detour” are both cool and calming. Lee’s bass really works to map out a bigger space for Han’s lean piano lines to explore. Her way of moving away from the lead line in order to see it, and feel it, all the more intensely is mesmerizing. With drums and bass both opening up lots of room for Han to move, as if marking out musical territory to consider, each of the pieces delivers spaciousness and thoughtfulness.
The deep lyricism of “Far East” is engaging with lots of unexpected directions coming from the loose tempo, but the piece also exerts plenty of control over the calm 4/4 sections for just the right variety and contrasting textures. That balance makes all of Han’s extensive explorations interesting to follow. Some take off in thought-out ways while others just follow deeper feeling. She’s not afraid to move from notes that pull on the beat to rampaging chords that break it up to start over.
Han also really uses the keyboard, letting her left hand strike deep and her right run free, whenever she chooses. On other pieces like the lyrical “Lost Moon” and “Moranism,” she commits to being restrained, tasteful and delicate, a few notes suggesting deep feeling. This CD is also recorded extremely clearly, with a great attention to all the sonic elements of the instruments. That quality sound is important because each of the musicians, most especially Han, have a refined, precise way of playing.
After many years in the States, Han has recently moved to Tokyo, so fans here will be able to not only get this must-listen CD, but also be able to hear her perform live.