“I saw at some point that I become more expressive with less notes,” says Israeli-French pianist Yonathan Avishai, whose new trio album, Joys and Solitudes, provides an eloquent showcase of the virtues of musical economy. Born in Tel Aviv, Avishai, “basically grew up alongside Avishai Cohen”, as he explains, so it’s unsurprising that the pianist and trumpeter should have kept company with one another on musical projects such as the Cohen-led Into the Silence (also released on ECM). Cohen doesn’t feature here, however; Joys and Solitudes is the work of Avishai alongside bassist Yoni Zelnik and drummer Donald Kontomanou, who have sometimes performed together as the Modern Times Trio. Seven of the eight tracks are Avishai originals, though the set opens with Duke Ellington’s ‘Mood Indigo’. “Ellington is a thoroughly modern pianist and composer,” he says. “His way of telling a story with his playing influenced me.” You can hear that on subsequent cuts, from ‘Song for Anny’ to ‘Les Pianos de Brazzaville’ (influenced by visits to the Republic of Congo), where Avishai and his collaborators really make their belief in le mot juste and musical frugality talk.