Dock In Absolute @ The Jazz Cafe February 23

Jean-Philippe Koch (piano); David Kintziger (bass); Michel Mootz (drums)

(Review by Steve H/Photos courtesy of Ken Drew) 

Piano trios in Newcastle seem to be like London buses you wait ages for one to come along and then 2 arrive virtually on top of one another. Following the highly enjoyable Alan Benzie Trio at The Globe the previous night came this popular Luxembourg trio. 

The evening began with a very solid drum solo from Mootz before piano and bass joined in with some rollicking high energy enthusiastic jazz that set the tone for the rest of the evening. 

Koch, clearly a classically trained pianist, played in a melodic flowing prog-rocky style in a somewhat animated fashion - think Richard Clayderman meets  Greg Emerson of ELP fame. Kintziger, who is actually from Belgium, played a very subtle and mellow electric bass. As mentioned before Mootz on drums was the jazziest of the trio, particularly when playing solos. Unlike Alan Benzie the night before, the band kept their chat to a minimum but they still managed to come across both humorous and engaging. Even though this may not have been the most challenging jazz I have seen this year, the trio certainly seemed to thoroughly entertain a not insubstantial audience.

Steve H.

Ken Drew photos.