Django Bates (piano); Peter Eldh (bass); Peter Bruun (drums).
ECM records are usually met with a reluctance by most of our reviewers. In general, the response is one of apathy, Suddenly, they have a migraine, or their aunt has died, they're on holiday, they're working overtime, they've got to paint a fence - "Which fence?" "Any fence". And so it goes on, the upshot being that the output from ECM is very much an acquired taste.
On this occasion, it was down to me to bite the bullet and it actually turned out to be a very tasty bullet indeed.
Bullets fired by Django Bates usually are and this was no exception.
A piano trio it may be but this is far removed from lounge music. This is Bates at his reflective best. Exploring, finding so many options, Bill Evans, Bach, Jarrett, Chopin, Lennie all interwoven into a rich tapestry that emerges as totally his own.
All compositions are by Django Bates apart from This World by Iain Bellamy and a blistering Passport by Charlie Parker. I recall Bates playing a concert as a member of this very same, excellent, trio at GIJF back in 2011 - My Belovèd Bird. The Bellamy piece was included at that concert and dedicated to the late Paul Gamblin, a northeast guitarist who went on to greater things and tragically died playing rugby.
The fact that the pianist is still playing it 6 years on speaks volumes for the esteem in which he still holds Paul.
We all do.
Lance.
PS: ECM - all is forgiven.
1 comment :
I was late in discovering Django Bates - but what a revelation when I did !! Having previously seen and enjoyed EST and Tord Gustavsen (the similarities being they are all modern piano-based trios) I was bowled over by his and his trio's refreshingly modern (i.e. contemporary) and distinctive style.
I've seen him live in Gateshead, Wakefield and Huddersfield, and fully support your approval for his inclusion in ECM's burgeoning list of recorded artists. ECM by its very definition covers a range of contemporary music styles, centred on Jazz, world, and more recently, western classical music, so it's good to see another admirer in the fold! So, whilst you have admirably forgiven ECM, will they forgive those disbelievers for missing out on the joy they've brought over many years of music production of the highest quality ? ;)
Ken
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