John R. Carlson, In November (3" CDR Parvoart Recordings)

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Very new label under the direction of Duncan ó Ceallaigh, a gentleman of Scots-Irish decent now living and working on the Baltic coast of Germany. John Carlson, who lives in the same town, will apparently be the only other artist on the roster of this self-proclaimed "microlabel", which also pledges to be true to the 3" CDR format in all its releases, partially as an expression of aesthetic asceticism - too many CDs with their looong running time, are bulked up with filler. Agreed. Parvoart also promises that this will lead to a greater frequency of releases, allowing an interested audience immediate access to the progress of their canon of work. This is certainly a concept which has worked for Machinefabriek, for instance.

Five unedited improvisations on a grand piano in a room with a very nice, crisp acoustic. Ranging from just over two minutes to eight and a half, American-born Carlson´s pieces are all very pretty and witty, optimistic narratives which do more to ward off the November chills that attempt to recreate them (that task is ably accomplished by the sombre landscape photography gracing the back and front covers by label partner ó Ceallaigh).

Carlson is in my mind some improviser - the skill and symmetry with which each number is designed and executed would lead the uninformed to believe them fully composed before the soloist took his seat. Carlson is thinking his way several steps ahead of what he is playing at all times, seeing the whole picture in his head.
This tiny perfect album is available through http://www.parvoart.org