Ethan Iverson - Every Note is True (Blue Note)

Though best known for his work with the quirky jazz trio The Bad Plus, pianist Ethan Iverson is, at heart, a traditionalist. In his own work as a musician, composer, writer and educator, the Wisconsin native tends to leave his former band’s irreverence behind and work within established bop parameters – witness his work with veterans like Albert Heath, Billy Hart, Tom Harrell and the catalog of jazz piano innovator Bud Powell. Fortunately this doesn’t mean that he’s hidebound by tradition – as with like minds like Mark Turner, Ben Street and other contemporaries with whom he frequently works, Iverson still sees plenty of opportunity to put his own stamp on the music he loves so much.

For Every Note is True, his Blue Note debut, Iverson teams with veteran bassist Larry Grenadier and legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette for a program of all original music. Check in with “She Won’t Forget Me,” a riff-oriented, beautifully melodic piece that subtly incorporates the tango into its seductive sway, or “For Ellen Raskin,” a swinging waltz that leans into the trio’s cohesion. “Goodness Knows” and “Merely Improbable” cheerfully ride bebop beats without coming off as self-consciously “classic” retreads, while “At the Bells and Motley” reconnects to the blues. “Praise Will Travel” lets DeJohnette off the leash to push the otherwise sweet melody, contributing to a track that’s somehow both rollicking and lovely.

While in print that description sounds almost like Iverson is flitting from one stylistic indulgence to another, the blend of his distinctive playing style and his fondness for certain types of melody act as a backbone to all of the tracks, no matter what manner of bop he’s exploring. In other words, no matter where Iverson goes on Every Note is True, it always sounds like him, and no one else.