Up to this point,
Eldar Djangirov has been best known as a brilliant young acoustic pianist who is influenced a little by
Chick Corea and
Herbie Hancock. While
Eldar has previously been heard mainly in trios,
Re-Imagination is a bit of a departure, ranging from unaccompanied piano solos on "Tears" and "Dream Song" and a romping trio rendition of
Oscar Peterson's "Place St. Henri" to a few electronic numbers on which
Eldar adds synthesizers for color. Three selections have
DJ Logic on turntables, interacting with the leader's keyboards. The electronic trappings may dismay
Eldar's fans, but in general they are quite intelligent and reasonably creative. Even those numbers have strong displays of
Eldar's acoustic piano playing, and he really digs into "South Bixel." One cannot blame
Eldar for spreading his wings a bit, and fortunately no one gets hurt along the way. This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.