Colin Vallon – piano Patrice Moret – bass Julian Sartorus – drums.
(Review by
Steve H.)
This is the Swiss trio’s second ECM album. It’s
a very modern European offering revolving not around virtuoso solos but a
collaboration of like minded musicians who have produced a piece of work which
may not have you jumping around on the kitchen table with excitement but
instead will provide a stimulating relaxing and peaceful experience. This is definitely more Swiss Roll than rock
and roll but sometimes it’s nice to have your cake and eat it.
All the tracks are written by Vallon apart from
the opening number Juuichi written by
bassist Moret and the final two numbers Styx and Coriolis written by the entire trio. The
album starts at an almost funereal pace before building to a more up-tempo
passage and then subsides softly and gently away. In fact this style seems to
set the tone for most of the tunes. The listener is drawn slowly into each
track as the whole ensemble builds each
tune up layer by layer. Some tracks are livelier than others, Immobile, for example, has a very
powerful rousing central passage whereas my own particular favourite Goodbye is a beautiful slow ballad. The title track, Le Vent (The Wind),
evokes its name as one imagines gusts of wind gathering pace and then gently
subsiding. The final two tracks Styx and Coriollis
minimalize the mininimalist approach even further with single piano notes and
soft percussion punctuating a bowed bass background. All in all an enjoyable
album well worth a listen.
Colin Vallon Trio - Le Vent is now available on
ECM Records.
Steve H.
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