No One is the second release from the Dan Cray Trio. It features the pianist with Clark Sommers on bass and Greg Wyser-Pratte on drums, exciting their listeners with a unique blend of polish, enthusiasm, and emotional depth. Cray seems to have cleared his mind of everything and improvises from a clean slate on 11 excellent songs. However, the reflexes of jazz are not totally eradicated because the trio's use of existing harmony, rhythm, and melody from such songs as "Let's Face the Music and Dance," or "The Lady Is a Tramp" continue to serve as a springboard for their unique improvisations. Some of the music heard here, such as "Woody n' You" and "For All We Know" will bowl you over, while some of the originals will give you many reasons to believe in -- and look forward to -- more of Dan Cray's excellent composing and piano skills. Overall, No One is far superior to his previous 2001 release, Who Cares.
© Paula Edelstein /TiVo