Freigeweht

Pianist Rainer Brüninghaus was a star in bassist Eberhard Weber’s band, and on Freigeweht (Set Free by the Wind) he debuted one of his own with Kenny Wheeler (flugelhorn), Jon Christensen (drums), and Brynjar Hoff (oboe and English horn). Traversing six originals, they expand his pianism with attuned sincerity. In terms of soloing, Wheeler is the standout, though one can hardly discount the ghostly magic of Hoff’s oboe or, of course, Brüninghaus’s own painterly genius. The production, too, is pure ECM and complements the music’s presence with the space it deserves.