Album: Anat Fort Trio, And If (ECM)

Another soft-touched ECM pianist with a liking for dreamy, indefinitesounding lyricism.

At first hearing, Israeli pianist Fort sounds too Tord Gustavsen-lite for comfort, with bassist Gary Wang and drummer Roland Schneider appearing to do little more than accompany.

Then, as this second album casts its spell, the accompanists steadily get more assertive while Fort herself assumes a clearer identity as both writer and player through strong themes, bluesy accents and the odd Russian reference.