The key

"This is the debut CD from the much-touted young pianist from Mauritius, who's keen to bring the folk-song of his native island into jazz. He won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition in 2013, but maybe more significant is the fact that he carried off the Audience-favourite prize at the same festival. This album, The Key, helps to explain why. Its sunny good-nature is as restorative as a stroll on a Mauritian beach ... Sudden switches into that unsatisfying no-man's-land between world music and jazz didn't endear the album to me. However on a second hearing it won me over, as it became clear the real heart of the album [lie] in the touchingly simple melodies at the heart of Jerry Léonide's own improvisations, which have an authenticity belied by the smooth production. The number entitled The Key is particularly appealing, with a tune you could imagine sung by a Mauritian mother as a lullaby. ".