Phronesis: Walking Dark

Pianistyka Jazzowa
premiera polska: 2014-02-28,
Wydawnicto Audiofilskie
kontynent: Europa
opakowanie: Jewelcaseowe etui
opis:
Editor's info:
The album sees all three players reaching further than ever before, creating music that by turns drives with urban energy and resonates with mountainous space and sheer delightful abstraction.

‘The secret of Phronesis is it stands for more than the sum of its parts and this outstanding album has got to be the best example of that to date’. – Jazzwise Magazine

The Guardian
This album's working method was inspired by the trio's Pitch Black project, in which they improvised in the dark as a tribute to bassist Jasper Hoiby's visually impaired sister. Their typical rhythmic overlays, motifs and ostinato patterns are still evident, but earlier connections to the folk-jazz of Avishai Cohen have receded somewhat and pieces alternate spiky rhythm games with episodes suggesting Chick Corea. Stuttery, single-note patterns come to dead stops, to be picked up by catchy bass hooks; sombre tone-poems unfold over snickety percussion; pianist Ivo Neame builds slow passages into Brad Mehldauesque soliloquies. The mix of the brittle and the songlike is sharper, and there's more extended jamming – and it's all formidably skilful.

All About Jazz * * * * 1/2
As the pile of talented and exciting piano trios continues to grow ever higher, it takes a very talented and exciting threesome to rise to the top and stay there. Enter Phronesis. Up on the peak with its third album—the award-winning Alive (Edition Records, 2010), Jazz Album Of The Year in both Jazzwise and Mojo magazines—the trio is emphatically still there with album number four, Walking Dark.
Danish bassist Jasper Høiby leads the band, which he formed in 2005 after moving to London. On Walking Dark he's joined by British pianist Ivo Neame and Swedish drummer Anton Eger. If the term piano trio suggests a dominant instrument or musician, then it's the wrong description for Phronesis. Like its European counterparts Michael Wollny's [em] or the Kit Downes Trio, no one musical personality overwhelms the others. All three musicians make dynamic, creative contributions to the sound as well as to the writing.
Eger wasn't available for Alive so Mark Guiliana was on drums. Guiliana was a key part of the album's success, matching Eger's lightness of touch and ability to use the entire drum kit to full advantage. Eger is more playful, frenetic and unpredictable than Guiliana, bringing an added edge to the overall sound—Høiby's gentle "Eight Hours," which appears on both albums, allows a direct comparison of the two players' styles.
Eger's sound as he skitters across his drums and cymbals presents a fascinating counterpoint to Høiby's powerful, fat-toned double bass. Neame takes full advantage of the interplay between bass and drums, sometimes matching Høiby's powerful rhythm, sometimes darting around the keyboard in emulation of Eger's percussive patterns. At times, the musicians give the distinct impression that if they swapped instruments the sound would be just as strong, just as intricate and imaginative.
Høiby's "Suede Trees" is almost infuriatingly catchy: a simple groove which all three players lock into with ease sets up a mood of upbeat jollity which is compounded by Høiby's bouncy bass solo. "Upside Down," another Høiby tune, revisits this positivity. Neame's "Passing Clouds" is more reflective and melancholy, a mood which he takes further on the lovely "Charm Defensive." Eger's three compositions all have a jagged urgency about them. "The Economist" in particular fairly races away, filled with pent-up energy.
Rather than describing a set of downbeat, pessimistic tunes, Walking Dark refers to a series of shows known as the Pitch Black concerts. Played in total darkness, they were a dedication to Høiby's visually impaired sister. This is music that reflects many moods, but never loses its optimism. Phronesis creates music from the heart and soul, and makes the world just that little bit better.
by Bruce Lindsay

muzycy:
Jasper Høiby: double bass
Ivo Neame: piano
Anton Eger: drums

utwory:
1. Walking Dark 6:02
2. Passing Clouds 3:56
3. Democracy 7:35
4. Suede Trees 5:01
5. Upside Down 4:38
6. Charm Defensive 5:38
7. Lipwash – Part I 1:34
8. Lipwash – Part II 4:46
9. Zieding 8:47
10. The Economist 5:58
11. American Jesus 7:05
12. Eight Hours 8:00

wydano: 2nd April 2012
nagrano: Recorded by August Wanngren at the Village Recording Studio, Copenhagen on 2nd, 3rd & 4th November 2011
more info: www.editionrecords.com
more info2: www.phronesismusic.com