Tania Giannouli has been an active recording artist for the past ten years. She has released five albums in that time, all studio recordings with different line-ups. This hints at Tania's eclectic approach to music, which she maintains without losing the delicate lyricism characteristic of the best tradition of European jazz pianism. In her music, traces of Greek traditional music can be heard, but only as one motif within a broader, more complex individualistic musical universe.

Solo serves as an intersection of Giannouli's stylistic interests and musical qualities. The 24 pieces on the album — some very brief, others lasting up to seven minutes — offer a wide range of playing techniques, purposefully incorporated into clearly structured compositions and arrangements, even though the album is entirely improvised. From classical piano ballads through ethno-motifs to playful and complex contemporary jazz and avant-garde approaches, Giannouli's album isn't a grab-bag of styles — as it could so easily have been — but a work that distils the musical essence she has developed over previous releases into a concentrated and fully realised solo statement.

NIKOLA MARKOVIC for Radio Beograd 3