Pianist Jef Neve is the most successful Belgian jazz artist of this moment. This year saw the release of three albums: For All We Know (Impulse!/Verve) with vocalist José James, Face to Face (Enja) with vibraphone player Pascal Schumacher and the long-awaited Imaginary Road (Universal) by his trio, which features drummer Teun Verbruggen and bass player Ruben Samama, who recently won the prestigious Deloitte Jazz Award. Neve’s playing exhibits the influences of Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau, his tutor. His classical background comes to the surface of his compositions, as does his love for the pop music of Joni Mitchell and Radiohead. ‘Soul in a Picture is as much for the committed as the enquiring as Neve emerges as a pianist par excellence. So it's perhaps unsurprising that he’s created an excellent album, one that could well feature among the pick of 2008’ (The Guardian).

http://www.writteninmusic.com/jazz

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