Michael Arbenz
(piano), Thomas Lähns (bass) & Florian Arbenz (drums & tabla)
(Review by Russell).
VEIN’s new album
traverses the history of the jazz piano trio from Bill Evans to the present
with a nonchalance that is the preserve of the supremely gifted. An
all-original album of eight tracks with
writing credits shared between the musicians (primarily the Arbenz
brothers) The Chamber Music Effect pays homage to the jazz piano trio format and
seeks to explore and extend possibilities as jazz moves into its second
century.
The Swiss trio
claim to have taken a university-of-life route into the world of jazz. A
classical music training doesn’t appear to have been a hindrance in gaining
admittance to the club (the jazz club)! VEIN possess all the technique and it
is the execution of ideas that places them a cut above. From the opening Boarding the Beat (comp. Florian Arbenz)
to the closing Ballet of the Monkeys (comp.
Michael Arbenz) their collective jazz chops are in evidence. Sandwiched in
between are reflective chamber pieces (the Bill Evans’ influence), virtuosic
flights (bassist Thomas Lähns’ solo on Michael Arbenz’s Sheherazade) and Florian Arbenz’s In Medias Res (imagine the Mahavishnu Orchestra in full flight
tackling the baroque).
Vein or VEIN
formed around a decade ago and their 2014 album Vote for Vein won the trio greater recognition on the British jazz
scene. The Chamber Music Effect promises
to win further accolades. The Chamber Music Effect by Vein (catalogue no. UTR 4716) is available now. The trio with their special guest Greg Osby can
be heard tonight Monday 22 May at
the Pizza Express, Dean Street ,
London
Russell.
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