Labyrinth

On the versatile, well-schooled (New England Conservatory, the bands of Diane Schuur and Larry Coryell) pianist's third solo outing, Kerry Politzer artfully and gleefully blends her deep complementary loves for hard-driving straight-ahead improvisation with the lighter, swaying rhythms of Brazilian music. Although the fun and frenetic "Super Ball" is the final full track of the collection, it's the first jazz tune she ever composed, so it's a good starting point for a discussion of the overall charms of the collection. Propelled by the throb of bassist Chris Higgins and some intense skinning by drummer George Colligan, Politzer dares the listener to keep up with her hard-driving tangents. The opening track "Rhodes Rage" — which was composed on a Fender but is played on acoustic piano — eventually gets around to this sort of controlled madness, but begins as a jubilant, seductive (though brisk, of course) samba balancing heavy chordings with lighter sprinkles and Andrew Rathbun's fiery tenor. It's easier, perhaps, to engage the listener when playing at full throttle like this, but Politzer's lyrical, more laid-back side is even more engaging, as she eases alongside Rathbun's soprano through the rhythmic breezes of "Paloma" (a wistful tribute to a friend living in Germany) and the lilting "Hya," and creates a thoughtful, contemplative melody over Colligan's light brushes on "The End?" Perhaps the most compelling yet hard to listen to piece is the dark-toned yet ultimately optimistic meditation "After the Smoke, Memories," a moving hometown elegy to the victims of 9/11. Just as things are getting too heavy to bear, Politzer bounces right back with a playful melodicism on "Propulsion" and the brisk samba-flavored title track. Overall, an inventive hybrid date from one of jazz's brightest young pianists.