With 8 stellar recordings and a stronger following in Europe, Lynne Arriale is arguably the poet laureate pianist of her generation. Both her two-night stand at the Dakota (May 10-11) and upcoming release (“Come Together,” due in later summer) significantly testify to her evolution as a composer of hauntingly lyrical melodies and a “decomposer” of familiar standards and traditional tunes. And together with long-time partners Jay Anderson on bass and Steve Davis on drums, the Lynne Arriale Trio presents a master class in musical collaboration.

Photograph courtesy of Howard Gitelson

The two sets on opening night drew widely from their (mostly) recorded repertoire, but highlighted the upcoming Motema release that marks a growing emphasis on Arriale’s compositions. The playlists were a nearly equal combination of originals and reinventions of standards (“Beautiful Love”), pop classics (“Lean on Me”), and folk melody (“Iko Iko”). Arriale’s inspirations are diverse, and as is true of her recordings, a set will typically include a nod to Monk (“Evidence”) and Porgy and Bess (“I Loves You Porgy”), as well as to Lennon and McCartney (“Black Bird,” “Come Together”). The evening leaned heavily on Brazilian and Caribbean flavors as well, from Egmonti’s “Frévo” to Arriale’s own “Brasiliana” and “Calypso.” Even “Lean on Me” was transformed into a calypso beat, giving it a bit of quirky rhythm and plenty of room for Davis to demonstrate the range of tone and texture that can be mined from a standard drum kit. With the house 4-drum set, this was perhaps less remarkable than his performance here two years ago when he used only the bass and snare to elicit an entire orchestra of sound.