Wenn die These stimmt, nach der ein improvisierender Jazz-Instrumentalist am ausdrucksstärksten ist, wenn sein Spiel eine vokale Qualität besitzt, dann liegt die Amerikanerin Lynne Arriale mit ihrem stilistischen Ansatz genau richtig. Arriale ist eine melodie-verliebte Klangpoetin, die es versteht, auch nur wenigen Tönen Bedeutung zu verleihen. Ihr Metier ist ein Jazz-Genre, in dem es von überragenden Vorbildern nur so wimmelt: das Piano-Trio.
Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal - für einige der größten Piano-Lyriker des Jazz war und ist die Triobesetzung mit Bass und Schlagzeug das bevorzugte Vehikel. Im Gegensatz zu ihren Vorbildern benutzt die klassisch geschulte Lynne Arriale zeitgenössische Pop-Vorlagen, denn auch diese regen ihre musikalische Fantasie an. Zum Beispiel Bill Withers' "Lean On Me".
Lynne Arriale und ihr Trio klingen auf diesem Album wie eine sich blind verstehende Einheit. Die drei Musiker reagieren äußerst einfühlsam aufeinander. Die Bandleaderin verfügt über einen makellos sensiblen Anschlag und die Sanglichkeit ihrer Phrasen beeindruckt. Besonders dieser vokale Ausdruck ihres Spiels zeichnet sie aus. Lynne Arriale ist dabei lyrisch und kraftvoll zugleich, mit einem ausgesprochenen Sinn für Einfachheit. Sie spricht - ähnlich wie ihr Vorbild Keith Jarrett - mit der Eloquenz einer Künstlerin, die den Moment durch improvisatorische Ausdruckskraft transzendiert.
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LYNNE ARRIALE gehört zur erfolgreichen neuen Generation der großen amerikanischen Jazzmusikerinnen. Sie besticht durch technische Brillanz, sensible Musikalität, prägnante Rhythmik und spannungsreiche Dynamik. Lynne Arriale ist auf der Jagd nach Melodien. Mit ihrer ausdrucksstarken Leidenschaft und ihrer melodischen Virtuosität überzeugt sie ihre Fans und Kritiker gleichermaßen, was ihr u.a. den ersten Platz in der Great American Piano Competition oder den deutschen Schallplattenpreis einbrachte.
In den letzten sieben Jahren widmete sie sich ausschließlich ihrer Arbeit mit dem „Lynne Arriale Trio“ und entwickelte mit diesem einzigartigen Trio Sounds in der Tradition großer Jazz Trio Stimmen wie Keith Jarrett und Bill Evans. Die Einzigartigkeit von Lynnes Spiel basiert auf ihrer Fähigkeit Melodien von universeller Emotionalität zu finden und zu spielen. In ihren Improvisationen und Kompositionen lässt sich dies ganz unmittelbar erfahren.
Es war interessant zu beobachten, wie Lynne Arriale über eine ganze Reihe von Jahren und Alben ihre eigene Stimme auf dem Piano entfaltete. Nun hat sie endgültig jenen lichten Ton gefunden, den sie so lange suchte. Ihre Finger tupfen über die Tasten des Klaviers, als spielte sie gar nicht mit den Händen, sondern mit Besen. Auch in dynamischen Stücken sind ihre Linien weich, ohne dass man ständig Anbiederungen befürchten müsste. Nein, die kinetische Kraft ihrer Poesie führt sie und mit ihr das Ohr unablässig und meist unvermutet an immer neue Orte.
"Jimmi Dorsey gehörte zu denjenigen, die eine Geschichte erzählen können", sagte Lester Young über den Klarinettisten und BigBand-Leader, der in diesem Jahr 100 geworden wäre. Eine Geschichte erzählen zu können, und zwar so, dass man sie hören möchte, ist vielleicht das schönste Kompliment, das man der amerikanischen Pianistin Lynne Arriale machen kann.
"Arise" heißt das neue Album der spätestens seit dem Vorgänger-Album "Inspiration" weltweit hochgelobten Pianistin. Schon die titelgebende Eigenkomposition erzählt Geschichte und Geschichten. "For the heroes" sollte das Stück zunächst heißen. Die in New York lebende Musikerin schrieb es als Erinnerung an die Opfer des Terror-Anschlags vom 11. September, aber sie nahm den ursprünglichen Titel zurück und ersetzte ihn durch "Arise".
Damit nimmt sie das große Pathos zurück und verweist auf ein Stilelement ihrer musikalischen Erzählungen hin: Alle neun Stücke dieses Albums, darunter vier Eigenkompositionen, kommen ohne jedes Pathos aus, und sogar in "Arise", einer besonders empfindsamen und durchaus verletzlichen "mournful melody", gibt es keine falsche Sentimentalität.
Lynne Arriale spielt die zarte, schlichte und warme Melodie mit einem Anschlag, der beiläufig, trocken und fast zögernd daherkommt, der eloquent ist, aber kein weiches Plaudern und keinen überflüssigen Ton zuläßt. Mit diesem diskreten Tonfall beglaubigt sie ihre Absicht, vom "everyday heroism" zu erzählen, als einer "manifestation of our most profound humanity". Das ziehlt - wie sie im Booklet schreibt - auf Empathie für die Opfer und ihre Familien, die sie ebenso unaufdribglich mitschwingen läßt wie die ihre eigenen Fragen ("where do we go from here?").
Es ist, wie Brecht gesagt hat, das Einfache, das schwer zu machen ist. "The Fallen" war das erste Stück, das Lynne Arriale nach dem 11. September geschrieben hat. Sie versucht, ihre Gefühle in einer ganz kleinen simple tune zu bannen, deren Traurigkeit so leise und so vorsichtig bleibt, dass die schlichte Melodie wie ein Halt wirkt, der vor dem Zerfließen und Zerfallen bewahrt.
Die Pianistin, die stets in der Trio-Formation spielt, nennt ihren musikalischen Ausdruck "most heartful" und sie erzählt, dass sie während des Komponierens die Melodie mitsinge, "um eine starke Bindung ans Gefühl" zu erzielen. Aber wer dieser auf dem Cover der aktuellen CD als hochattraktive Lady porträtierten Musikerin in die schönen Augen sieht, glaubt auch den Vamp zu erkennen.
Um im Bild zu bleiben: Man spürt in ihrer Musik den Biss, den energischen, direkten Zugriff, der in ihrem von der klassischen Ausbildung geprägten Pianospiel liegt. Viele ihrer Stücke leben von einem durchgehend swingenden Unterboden, den ihre beiden langjährigen Sideman Jay Anderson (Bass) und Steve Davis (drums) ebenso gelassen wie elegant dahinpinseln, während Lynne Arriale mit rauer, körniger Improvisation den Rhythmus aufbricht, ohne den Fluß der Musik zu stören.
Wenn sie als "eine der geistreichsten Swingladies" gefeiert wird, gerät sie damit jedoch in eine Schublade, die ihr nicht angemessen ist. Sie bewegt sich zwischen Genre-Grenzen - in "Inspiration" zwischen Bernstein, Lennon-McCartney, Monk und Keith Jarrett, in "Arise" zwischen Blockbustern der Pop-Musik wie "Lean on me", "Change the world" und den eigenen empfindsamen Liedern. Sie bevorzugt das liedhafte Material, das so einfach und klar wie möglich ist, und sie imprägniert mit ihrem charakteristischem Zugriff abgenudelte und fast verblichene Pop-Stücke derartig, dass etwa Bill Withers Soulklassiker "Lean on me" zu neuem Leben erweckt wird.
Lynne Arriale's brilliant musicianship, ebullience and bandstand instincts place her among the top instrumentalists of the day," said The New York Times. "No American pianist has made quite as strong an impression over the past five years as Arriale," said The London Times. "Arriale cruises on the flow of an ensemble's activity with a succinctness and drive reminiscent of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis in the '60s," said The Guardian, London. JazzTimes described her music as coming "...from the synaptic intersection where brain meets heart, where body meets soul." The fire and passion, burning solos and exquisite lyricism Arriale delivered, reminiscent of the great legends who preceded her on the stage of 1999's Montreux Jazz Festival, led La Presse Riviera/Chablais to dub her "the new queen" of the entire festival. The trio has since been selected by SUISA to perform at the January 2002 MIDEM World Music Conference in Cannes, France.
Arriale has devoted herself exclusively to the development of her own trio sound, distinguishing herself from her contemporaries, male or female. "They have attained a level of communication paramount to all great threesomes," said JAZZIZ magazine. Her trio -- described by Grammy award-winning jazz critic Bob Blumenthal as "one of the most empathetic threesomes in jazz," and as having "a shared metabolism" -- has been winning accolades for its almost telepathic interaction forged over the past eight years. During that time they have recorded seven CDs and played concerts and festivals in Europe, throughout the U.S. and Canada and in Japan, where Arriale was part of the prestigious "100 Golden Fingers" group, which included jazz greats Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron and Cedar Walton. "It is a wonderful gift to be able to play with Jay Anderson (bass) and Steve Davis (drums)," says Arriale. "Both are stellar musicians and highly creative soloists as well as great 'group players,' who allow the music to take its own shape."
The trio's remarkable telepathy is beautifully demonstrated on their latest TCB Music release, INSPIRATION, an homage to an eclectic group of mainstream and jazz composers, including the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Duke Ellington and Leonard Bernstein, whose "America" opens the CD -- a particularly rousing and percussive arrangement, which is coincidentally very apropos of the times.
That Arriale has chops isn't in question. She was the winner of the 1993 International Great American Jazz Competition in Jacksonville, Florida. Everyone agrees that she is "downright brilliant" (The Ontario Spectator) and has "technique galore" (Keyboard Magazine). But what makes her really stand out is her ability to "meld spectacular technique with heart-tugging emotion that often plummets you deep into the heart of songs you might think you know well," to quote The Albuquerque Tribune. It's an ability that undoubtedly owes something to her classical background -- she earned a master's degree in piano performance before turning to jazz.
Like the great Bill Evans, (to whom she is often compared) Arriale has a classician's feeling for lyricism and melody. In classical music, where there is no improvisation, all the expression has to come from the actual playing of the notes. "I remember teachers saying, 'You have to sing this line,'" she says. "It's a lifelong pursuit for me to teach my fingers how to sing." And yet she has always had a singer's sensibility and phrasing, which may owe something to the fact her birth mother (Arriale was brought up by adoptive parents) was a professional jazz singer. "I believe singing to oneself is very important in order to have a vocal quality to the music, but more than a vocal quality, a heart connection," says Arriale, who always sings along while she is practicing, and composes and performs in keys which are within her vocal range.
It is this heart connection that she delivers to her audiences. Technique (on which she works extremely hard, often practicing for eight hours a day) is important only in as much as it allows her the freedom and power to express real feeling. "It's no good having the notes if there's nothing behind them," she says. And just as the best speakers carefully choose their words to better convey their message, Arriale takes it as a personal challenge to express the emotionality of a song directly to an audience, choosing repertoire with as much care as she chooses her notes. "There's nothing more important to me than connecting with the audience. That is ultimately why we play," she says. "I deeply appreciate people taking the time to come and hear us, and I feel a big responsibility to reach out to them." And reach out to them she does with muscularity and passion as well as poetry, which touches jazz and mainstream audiences alike. "I love it when people come up to me and tell me that they had never heard jazz before, and feel their excitement about hearing musical improvisation for the first time!" she enthuses. As described by Strictly Jazz, "Pensive, passionate, haunting, genuine, enlightening and deeply affecting"... Lynne has achieved an obvious mastery, a warm and sophisticated style and has reached her goal ... "to sing from the heart and reach her listeners."
P R E S S E
Trio plays with a shared metabolism
"Some piano trios are all about the individual virtuosity of their members or focus on complex, iconoclastic arrangements. Lynne Arriale's trio gives primary place to group empathy. The communication she shares with longtime drummer Steve Davis and frequent bassist Jay Anderson produces interpretations of familiar themes that glow with a sense of proportion and coherence that is all the more effective for being so uncommon.
"Time and again during the trio's opening set at Scullers, one sensed shaping hands that valued complete statements over momentary flourishes. Tempos and dynamics evolved organically, choruses swelled and settled, yet a strong rhythmic pulse ensured constant strength and momentum. At times the music seemed to be played in the air without ever suggesting directionless drift. The musicians had worked together enough to sense where spontaneous accents would fall and seemed to be inventing out of a shared metabolism.
"Arriale's style is thoughtful and lean. She coaxed ideas from the keyboard rather than attacking it, and sustained contrast by moving from brisk, quizzical patterns to terse rhythmic variations. While her faster solos mined a familiar vernacular, the phrases were inevitably well placed, and her ballad readings of ''Estate'' and ''The Nearness of You'' were awash in thoughtfully conceived melody. Anderson and Davis, superb musicians who suggested the capacity to dazzle with virtuosity had they so chosen, each took a more selfless approach. The bassist turned in excellent solos, with just enough technique to spice his warm, melodic conception and never played two notes in support where one would suffice. Davis employed a quiet physicality that made each stroke a visual experience and extracted every conceivable texture from his kit.
"What stood out more than individual contributions was the way Arriale's trio sculpted each tune into a distinctive entity. Chick Corea's ''Tones for Joan's Bones'' was stated in alternating arcs of swing and lyricism, Bobby Scott's ''Feelin' Good'' became a quietly intent African processional, and Thelonious Monk's ''Bemsha Swing'' surrounded a funky underlying beat with passages of playful free-form. Most intruiging of all were the vamp endings that allowed Arriale, Anderson, and Davis to extend ''Feelin' Good,'' ''Estate,'' and ''Beautiful Love.'' These were seductive reveries that served the music rather than calling attention to themselves - Keith Jarrett minus the angst and the sense that a good thing had been taken to wearying extremes. Then again, knowing just how much is enough may be Arriale's greatest strength." Bob Blumenthal, The Boston Globe
"...(She has) the authority and creative fire that places her squarely in the upper echelon of jazz pianists...she's developed an ability to convey real adventure and excitement." Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader "Lynne Arriale's, brilliant musicianship and bandstand instincts place her among the top jazz pianists of the day. Even though there are hundreds of superb pianists residing today in the jazz world, the major recording labels would like you to believe that only a handful really matter. In recent years the high-profile publicity and marketing campaigns trumpeting thirty-something ivoryists Brad Mehldau and Jacky Terrasson, for example, has effectively shadowed the work of many of their peers, and detrimentally so. After all, the traditions and vanguards of jazz are actually carried on the backs of many, and not just a few, artists, regardless of the notions that Ken Burns and others proffer.
"One of the sparkling entities to be found in the penumbra of the chosen few is Lynne Arriale, whose brilliant musicianship, ebullience and bandstand instincts certainly place her among the top instrumentalists of the day. Like so many jazz musicians, though, her talents and accomplishments are grossly under-appreciated here in the United States. Being a woman (and not a singer, still a drawback in the genre even in our so-called enlightened, post-feminist age), a nomadic existence by trade and the lack of major label support all contribute in obscuring her merits as an artist.
"Arriale's latest CD, Live at Montreux, is a real treasure and ample proof that she is worth regarding closely. Listening to Live at Montreux it occurred to me there was no overall thematic framework or gimmick attached to the music. It wasn't a songbook collection either; and there were no special guest stars flown (or phoned) in to lay down solos. It's just a wholly enjoyable album that finds an artist in the spotlight with a carefully chosen program of music. Take from the album what you will--consciously or not, this is what seems to be the ethos here, which, in my mind, is always the best compliment an artist can give an audience. The last song on Live at Montreux, the show's encore, is a rendition of "An Affair to Remember," which Arriale plays as a riveting solo that could work as the soundtrack for a breaking heart." Thomas Staudter, Fairfield County, NY Times
No American pianist has made quite as strong an impression over the past five years as Arriale. Very much a lyrical improvisor in the mould of Bill Evans, she has a sharp eye for highly melodic material and has cultivated an almost telepathic relationship with the drummer Steve Davis.... " London Times
"The abundantly talented Arriale should take her rightful place alongside Brad Mehldau and Jacky Terrasson as one of the vital new voices on the jazz scene. She is one of jazzdom's most intensely unique voices. Brava Arriale! This is music from the synaptic intersection where brain meets heart, where body meets soul. There's a directness, a purity, an unalloyed honesty that makes us listen and therefore 'see' anew." Jazz Times
"There are too many mathemeticians playing jazz at the moment, all straight lines and formulae learnt by rote. Lynne Arriale belongs among the poets. A truly distinctive pianist, her improvisations weave a seductive combination of lyricism and muscle. She is a consummate jazz artist." The London Times
"She's got fingers of gold." CD Review
"Lynne Arriale's Miles Davis Hall performance revealed a new queen to the festival audience. Her fluid touch allows her to weave melodies of remarkable musicality, particularly in ballads, in perfect communion with Steve Davis' musical drums and Jay Anderson's intensely beautiful bass. Arriale's great strength as a player is in contrast to her frail silhouette, especially in her fierce and fiery solos reminiscent of the great be-bop players." La Presse Riviera/Chablais
"Pianist Lynne Arriale's trio is one of the most brilliant of it's kind in a complex and difficult format. She is one of the strongest personalities of our time in jazz piano. Her musical sensibility is astonishing." Le Matin
"Arriale cruises on the flow of an ensemble's activity with a succinctness and drive reminiscent of Herbie Hancock with Miles Davis in the 60's." The Guardian, London
"This is the wisdom that comes not only from old souls, but also those who strive to wrap their conscious thoughts around a mystery -- the way the simplest melodies etch their historical place in our culture. The trio is one of the most acclaimed and musically creative threesomes in modern jazz . Arriale is one of the most accomplished voices on the jazz scene.
"With any style of music, talent and the shape it takes, make the creative process, and determine the success and chemistry of the group or artist. But those things which cannot be taught, the intangible elements to any artist's work, are what sets Arriale apart from her contemporaries. Her skills as a pianist are astounding, and the nuances and minute details, the fluidity and style of Arriale's playing and composing deliver an understated beauty and natural simplicity to her music.
"One listen to her last studio album, 1999's Melody, and you can understand what Arriale is all about, both as an artist and a woman. There is nothing on this record to suggest that Arriale is impatient, flippant, or interested in mainstream takes on classics. Rather, you find yourself drifting along, in a sea of profundity, amazed at how simple things really are when you get down to it. The best music speaks from the soul, and speaks clearly.
"Arriale's music is akin, and has been referred to in the same company as Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, considered to be "introspective lyricists", or "thinking musicians." Her fingers are so fast, and light, that it often seems she could take flight on her fingertips, but that thoughtfulness and playful lyrical style keeps her grounded. Colley and Davis' styles are conversational, and while these compositions contain no words, their messages are very clear through the instrumental interplay.
"There is clearly something special about Arriale, and you could throw out quips and phrases all day and never quite place your finger on what makes her so. But there is a certainty that her playing and presence will engage any listener whose heart and mind is open, and to those who listen for the beauty that lies, both apparent and underneath, the musical journeys she takes.
"Yes, the simplest things in life can be summed up in one note, one strain of a string, one hit of a drum." Bloomington Independent
"A singular voice as a pianist and as a leader...a powerhouse...Arriale's playing is haunting, gorgeus,... a breeze of warm sophistication and accomplished pianism..expressive passion..intelligent interpretation." Downbeat
"She is on a path that has taken her into the rarefied realm of the jazz elite. She has developed into a consummate improviser with a highly refined melodic sensibility. If ballads are the heart, if not always the soul, of jazz, Lynne Arriale has heart. Miles and miles of heart. Though her trio interacts in a way that can be called conversational, Arriale's glistening lines and polished touch maker her improvisations closer to finely wrought poetry than to simple speech. She has an ability to put a personal stamp on whatever material she investigates." San Jose Mercury News
"On 'Melody,' Arriale melds spectacular technique with heart-tugging emotion that often plummets you deep into the heart of songs you might think you know well. Her clarity is crystalline, her execution lush and above all, she wraps the listener with a distinct sense of intellectual and instinctual understanding of this most American of art forms. Playing her own compositions as well as standards, Arriale plays on the audience's unconscious grasp -- not just of jazz's past -- but of musical structure." The Albuquerque Tribune
"On only her fourth album as a leader, pianist Lynne Arriale earns a spot among the jazz piano elite and establishes herself as a composer of depth and lyricism. What makes Arriale's playing and writing special is, in a word, honesty. There's not an artificial sounding note written or struck... instead there's a palpable emotionalism that ranges from deeply romantic (even spiritual) to cheerful and exhilarating."
"Pianist Lynne Arriale is as marvelous and deeply affecting a musician as I've heard recently, not only on her instrument, but in all of jazz...she is a profound player, who touches your heart and even reaches into your soul."
St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Stunning piano work. The trio has obviously attained the level of communication paramount to all great threesomes." Jazziz
"Arriale is a superb talent with an imaginative gift for improvisation. ...It's clear from the first notes she plays that pianist Lynne Arriale is passionately into her music. Eyes closed, hair flying, body swaying, she seems completely at one with the stream of ideas that flow through her fingers. ...Her most attractive attributes include and exquisite sense of touch and an understated but propulsive drive. The ballad phrases she spins out are articulated with ravishing simplicity. On up-tempos ... she uses long, soaring single note lines to build brilliantly paced sequences of tension and release ... the seemingly nonstop abundance of Arriale's imagination, the unique way in which she employed sequential phrases to build climatic passages, the subtle but persistent swing, were all her own -- distinct evidence of a major talent in the making." Los Angeles Times
"...when the last hushed note finally was played, the applause in the room was striking/ The reaction Arriale elicited was testimony to her ability to reach people ... she was most impressive ... finding great beauty ... She displayed a sensitivity of touch and concern for structure (I was impressed by the eloquence with which she ended some pieces) ... Marian McPartland was among those applauding enthusiastically." New York Post
"... last night she displayed an absolutely stunning fluency in every language, inflection, accent, and colloquialism jazz uses to get its message across ... She can trace an impressionistic net of sound so gossamer light, yet deeply felt ... Then she can ... get down and really preach the gospel according to the blues ... That Davis and Arriale have spent a long time playing together is obvious. They displayed that uncanny telepathy that is the glory of the fine jazz. Arriale is one who makes even the most faded jazz classic into fresh and vital music with supple and subtle harmonic shifts and changes that transform the raw material of her music." Ontario Spectator
"A lyrical, gossamer touch brings out the beauty of reflective pieces ... Arriale is fluent in all modes and ... shows a capacity for authoritative and agile swing. Arriale was authority itself. She plays with an intense, confidently controlled decisiveness ...lots of light and shade -- and uses the piano's dynamics to full effect. (Her) tunes sounded invigoratingly fresh ... the biting crispness she employs lifted the mood excitingly ... (She had) an impressive touch full of attacking runs ... while maintaining the essential beauty of phrasing." Toronto Star
"Though her improvisational prowess and harmonic sophistication is obvious, Arriale is very much a romantic, an instrumentalist drawn to the kind of lyricism that exerts a strong hold on the listener long after the last note has sounded. She casts several lush and haunting spells ... and each mood is enhanced by the supple and subtle interplay of (the trio.)" Washington Post
"Arriale chooses (her) repertoire and picks her notes in such a compelling way, her billowing phrases so buoyant that they seem to float on the beat like a seabird on a wave ... the airiness of her playing, with its firmness of touch and intention married to ... sophisticated lyricism." Stereophile Magazine
"An engaging pianist ... she interprets standards as if they mean something to her." Village Voice
"Lynne Arriale (is) one of the most meaningful pianists in jazz today, because she swings and swings, ... the trio had the large, enthusiastic audience jumping to its feet ... She is constructing music of great internal strength and solid architecture. She has an enormous talent for delicate romanticism ... She made music of great beauty and depth of feeling. "Arriale is just an incandescent musician burning with the raging swing and the ballsy, rocking blues, deeply moving solos of wonderful harmonic logic and melodic development ... the trio proceeded to play music so hot it could have been used to strip the paint from the ballroom walls. The air sometimes barely moved as blocks of time were used to collectively improvise washes of harmony and color. In accompaniment and solo ... Arriale ... was downright brilliant." The Ontario Spectator
"...she's subtle, extremely subtle. ... (she) creates an exquisite sort of tension as she measures how softly, how delicately a ballad may be handled before it loses its emotional centre ...Arriale's playing is about nothing else but (beauty). ... (Lynne Arriale has) a keyboard touch that strikes each note dead center, a strong sense of form and a sensitive ear for beauty... Her ballads are the tunes to wait for ... not one of them an exercise in mere sentimentality. Taken at tempos that allowed her to control every nuance, they had a placid, delicately detailed beauty that held the attention as if in a light spell." Toronto Globe and Mail
"Lynne Arriale's candid approach to piano playing speaks volumes. Everything here is in equal proportion: uniformly smooth and penetrating tone, technique galore, and a harmonic sense that's sophisticated without being mannered." Keyboard Magazine
"Lynne continues to prove herself worthy of the acclaim and praise expressed in each and every review of her product and performances. Look forward to experiences that are easily described as pensive, passionate, haunting, genuine, enlightening, and deeply affecting. It will leave a lasting and indelible impression upon your appreciation of the jazz idiom... Lynne has achieved an obvious mastery, a warm and sophisticated style and has reached her goal... to sing from the heart and to reach her listeners." Strictly Jazz
"It doesn't take long to recognize a true talent... She sailed through "Straight No Chaser" with agility, authority and a confident and colorful sense of swing. She balanced her nimble touch with a sturdy rhythmic attack. Her sound was crystal-clear, its range prismatic. Whatever the tempo, her playing always swung. All heads were turned towards the stage where a little bit of musical magic was being made."
Times Herald Record
"Arriale is a shooting star... She commands the keys with a sensual sweep that few technicians could hope to touch." Folio Weekly
"Arriale repeatedly delivers thoughtful and beautiful interpretations ...and several of her own impressive compositions. At times - with her quiet passion - she sounds like a subtler version of Keith Jarrett." St. Paul Pioneer Press
"She played so beautifully that the stars fell from heaven... she was a revelation. We are dealing with a natural talent with a strong feeling for jazz tradition as well as a brilliant technique and a perfect sense of taste and style" CD of the Month, HiFi Video Test, The Netherlands
"...Arriale can unleash glittering single-note runs in the right hand, but she is much more interested in tonal colour and contrast, her long chordal sweeps creating her own dreamscape. Arriale's other great strength lies in her distinctive material. The combination of Monk's "Think of One", Chick Corea's "Windows" and Jobim's "Zingaro" made for an absorbing and unusually varied set. "...(Arriale's) profound desire to engage the audience in the creative process imbues Arriale's playing with a highly affecting questing earnestness; although most immediately apparent in the slow-burning, lyrical originals she favours, it is also readily discernible in her visits to both standards and materials by modern jazz masters such as Jimmy Rowles and Thelonious Monk. Her solos resonate with an infectious delight in exploring all the melodic and rhythmic possibilities (of a tune).
"Such a sensitive, considered approach - even her up-tempo playing is supremely attentive to delicate nuances of touch and coloration - requires sympathetic support, particularly from the drummer, and in Steve Davis, Arriale has found an ideal musical partner. Like hers, his dynamic control is simply exquisite. ...She is a consummate jazz artist." The London Times
