Storyteller

Pianist Marilyn Crispell has in recent times chucked the knotty angularity and tumultuous bursts of her free-jazz past for slowly tempered mediations on beauty and form. Her songs unfold with a balletic delicacy, each movement measured and sure--and, sometimes, static. There are definitely narrative dry spots on Storyteller, which lacks the ongoing sense of discovery that sparked 2001's Amaryllis. That album featured the great drummer Paul Motian and bassist Gary Peacock. This one, which substitutes Mark Helias for Peacock, creates intrigue in the way Motian provides the pulse that would usually be provided by the bassist, while Helias does a drummer-like job of pushing the rhythms. Half of Storyteller is comprised of Motian compositions from his long and varied career. At their best, and the trio's, they impart a radiant optimism that intensifies with repeated listenings. --Lloyd Sachs