Reaching #1 on The Roots Music Report's Top 50 Traditional Jazz Album Chart in January, 2022, New York-based pianist Pete Malinverni’s latest album presents Leonard Bernstein compositions in a trio setting along with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jeff Hamilton. On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein features jazz arrangements of songs primarily from musicals such as On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), and West Side Story (1957). Malinverni also provides an enthralling spiritual rendition of “Simple Song” from Mass (1971), as well as one of his own numbers, “A Night on the Town” that closes the set.    

Pete Malinverni has released trio albums before, along with some other projects such as his 2020 duo project, Candlelight: Love in the Time of Cholera with violinist Juliet Kurtzman.  His albums have typically been organized with coherent thematic elements that bind them together. For example, on his 2008 Invisible Cities album, his quintet paid tribute to cities around the world, and he also included Bernstein's “Lonely Town” in that set. On another recording project, his 2015 Emerging Markets album presented pieces dedicated to various factory towns in the Northeastern U.S. that got left behind when companies moved away in search of cheaper labor and fewer regulations.

American pianist, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein wrote music in many forms, and while his lovely melodies might appear simplistic and easy to sing, there are also harmonies, colors, textures and form rolling underneath them to provide the songs with real depth. Malinverni wisely flew in West Coast drummer Jeff Hamilton, a total pro who’s comfortable with many styles from swing to bop. After a few rehearsals and gigs over a five-day period, the threesome cut this memorable album that captures their shared chemistry, ability to communicate and make expressive musical statements together.     

Spry, invigorating jazzy instrumental arrangements approach these songs from a different perspective. I was afraid I might miss the lyrics written by Bernstein collaborators like Adolph Green, Betty Comden and Stephen Sondheim. And perhaps I did, on first or second listen, wish that someone with Julie Andrews’ phrasing and clear voice had been brought in to sing “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere” from West Side Story. Or a strong tenor to quietly lament with feelings of solitude in “Lonely Town.” 

A song from 1944’s Broadway musical, On the Town, “Lucky to Be Me” is typically presented with its jubilant, infectious melody and gushing lyrics, appropriate for any Valentine’s Day playlist. After a few listens, it becomes clear that Malinverni captures the carefree euphoria of the song in a different sort of way, allowing the melody to display sudden, exuberant, expansive  leaps between intervals to give us a sense of confidence and sunny optimism. He follows a similar approach with another ballad from that same show, “Some Other Time.”

An eight-minute version of “It’s Love” could’ve taken a more economical approach to leave us wanting more. With a clear nod in tribute to Bernstein, Malinverni’s self-penned “A Night on the Town” captures the undeniable magic at work in the big city, reinforced when you cue up the album again to hear “New York, New York” and reimagine this helluva town where “The Bronx is up, but The Battery's down.”  On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein just flows smoothly in a more quiet and seductive vein. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)