The Guardian

Title
John Taylor Trio: Whirlpool

Author
John Fordham

The world-class British jazz pianist John Taylor made one of the most acclaimed albums of 2006 (Angel of the Presence) with this trio featuring Swedish bassist Palle Danielsson and former Loose Tubes drummer Martin France, and as 2008 gets rolling the same group looks likely to do it all over again. Taylor's deep roots in Bill Evans and a little of Chick Corea's dancing playfulness are more audibly balanced against the harmonies he draws from both classical music and jazz here, though it's still a predominantly reflective programme.
Danielsson's lustrous sound and Taylor's unique keyboard touch entwine on the opening Consolation; France turns staccato drum tattoos into a sporadic free-Latin feel on the title track; the leader's Bill Evans romanticism emerges on the ballad Nicolette, and accounts of I Loves You Porgy, an unexpected In the Bleak Midwinter, and Kenny Wheeler's classic Everybody's Song But My Own are masterpieces of spontaneous ensemble composition.