DANILO PEREZ
“Across the Crystal Sea”
(Emarcy)

The pastel shimmer of “Across the Crystal Sea” has no real precedent in the recording history of Danilo Perez, a pianist, composer and educator with active roots in his native Panama. Over the last 20 years Mr. Perez has earned acclaim especially for his rhythmic daring and rigorously playful take on improvisation. Like most jazz musicians, he could have gone an entire career without making a lustrous album with a symphony.

That he did make one is testament to the bond he shares with his producer, Tommy LiPuma, who conceived of “Across the Crystal Sea” as a spiritual heir to the 1965 album “Bill Evans Trio With Symphony Orchestra.” Like that record this one features music by Claus Ogerman, who wrote new pieces after themes by the likes of Rachmaninoff and Massenet. Unlike that record this one includes two standards sung by Cassandra Wilson, whose alto sounds even more luxurious than usual, as if draped in gossamer fabrics.

Mr. Perez’s strengths have always been lyrical as well as dynamic, and he carries himself impeccably here. Not surprisingly, the album feels sharpest when the string arrangements seem to coalesce with his playing and with a muted rhythm section of Christian McBride on bass, Luis Quintero on percussion and Lewis Nash on drums. This happens briefly on “Rays and Shadows,” a Sibelius-inspired piece that breaks into an ambling swing; it happens again on “The Purple Condor,” which riffs on a Manuel deFalla theme.

It’s all beautifully executed and recorded — the engineer, Al Schmitt, works wonders — but it’s also decorous, sometimes to a fault. Mr. Ogerman and Mr. LiPuma have created a lovely vessel for Mr. Perez, and he fills it with vibrant color. One wonders, though, what this could have been with more of his input from the start. NATE CHINEN

New York Times