The fact that Anke Helfrich follows an ultra-fast, hell-bent-for-changes performance of
Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" with a mildly avant-garde, somewhat AACM-ish number like the brief "Miniatur: An-Ma-De" speaks well of the German acoustic pianist. It tells you that she was intent on bringing some variety to
Better Times Ahead, which will not be accused of being one-dimensional. Actually, most of this 2005 date (which employs Martin Gjakonovski on upright bass,
Dejan Terzic on drums, and special guest
Roy Hargrove on trumpet and flugelhorn) is not avant-garde. There are some outside moments on "Miniatur: An-Ma-De" and the angular "Der Turm," but 90-percent of the time,
Better Times Ahead is operating from a very straight-ahead post-bop/hard bop perspective, and Helfrich's inspirations are generally inside, non-avant-garde inspirations. Those inspirations range from
Horace Silver to
Thelonious Monk to
Bill Evans; Helfrich's appreciation of
Silver's funkiness is especially evident on "Movin' In" and the title track, while the Kurt Weill/Ira Gershwin standard "My Ship" is more
Evans-minded. And the influence of
Monk's quirky angularity asserts itself on "Der Turm," and two
Monk warhorses ("Ask Me Now" and "I Mean You"). But being influenced by someone and going out of your way to sound like him/her are two different things; on
Better Times Ahead, Helfrich acknowledges the people she admires without actually emulating them. Although not an innovator, Helfrich is her own person, and while this 51-minute CD falls short of excellent, it is a decent and worthwhile effort from the European improviser. ~ Alex Henderson