Dave Saemann, Fanfare magazineDenmark owns a place in the history of jazz. Copenhagen was the final home of the great saxophonist Ben Webster. It also was home for decades to the hugely underrated American pianist Kenny Drew. Denmark produced Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, one of the greatest bassists in all of jazz. Pedersen performed extensively with Drew and also Oscar Petersen, and it is through Petersen that we begin our understanding of the 26-year-old Danish pianist Zier Romme. Stories is his debut CD, announcing a significant new voice in the jazz world. Romme grew up in a small town in Denmark, where at age 13 his idol was Oscar Petersen. Today, he listens to other pianists and instrumentalists, but as a young teen Oscar was the man. Not that Romme sounds like Petersen. The gigantic tone and turn on a dime virtuosity we associate with Oscar is reflected mainly in Romme’s sense of swing and respect for the melodic line. He came to prominence at Copenhagen’s White Lamb Café, and now is achieving wider recognition. Stories notably was released in Denmark this April, and worldwide a month later. If I had to name one pianist Romme reminds me of, it’s Tommy Flanagan. There is the same ability both to lead and support, and also a concern for the clarity of voices within the phrasing. It also is significant that two other American pianists, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, are represented by compositions on this album.In his way, 22-year-old guitarist Pelle von Bülow is about as significant a participant on Stories as Romme. It is gratifying to hear a guitarist this age who is as much his own man as von Bülow is. He is not as stunningly virtuosic a player as Oscar Petersen’s two great sidemen, Herb Ellis and Joe Pass. But von Bülow possesses all the technique he needs to do what he wants, which is to sing out refreshing and beautiful melodic lines, with a tone that at times is loving and tender. His interplay with Romme is deft, even serendipitous. They often sound like one player on two instruments. It’s wonderful to hear a young guitarist who has a real legato, with a sound as soothing as it is bracing. Bassist Rune Fog-Nielsen is Romme’s best friend. They share a love of video games, belonging to a quite different generation than Petersen and Ray Brown. I would not say that Fog-Nielsen is a virtuoso, but he is a sensitive player who accompanies well and whose solos are inventive. Only in his solo opening Hancock’s “Empty Pockets” do I feel that a retake might have been beneficial. Romme notes that most of the selections on Stories were first takes. The nominal producer of the CD is Rodney Green, who also happens to be the drummer. It was his selection of tunes for the album that gave the quartet the impetus to head into the studio. These mainly were numbers the other players didn’t know, but how fully they inhabit them here! As a drummer, Green keeps good time and finds an appropriate ambience for each composition. He also knows when to accentuate a beat to drive the ensemble forward.In Thad Jones’s Quietude and Hancock’s Tell Me a Bedtime Story, the quartet demonstrates how much music they can create at a relaxed tempo, with Romme mining a particular vein of fantasy in the Hancock. Corea’s Tones for Joan’s Bones, written for his first love, is mostly von Bülow’s show, evincing a hip, civilized passion. Duke Pearson’s New Girl is the most Petersen-like track on the CD, with great forward momentum and a wealth of voices. Robert Norman’s Something About Heroes cultivates a jazzy nobility. Portrait of Jennie is a duet for Romme and von Bülow, whose emotional perception seems far in advance of their years. The CD’s sound engineering is very good. Stories makes me feel hopeful about the future of jazz. Here are players for whom the romance of the music still is fresh. We will hear more of them. Recommended.