jazzhead

The Australian: JAZZ1 - Unnamed

Liminal
Jex Saarelaht Trio
Jazzhead
4 STARS

"FORMED more than 20 years ago by pianist Jex Saarelaht, this trio, one of the most respected Melbourne small groups, now has released a follow-up to its 1999 double album, Fiveways, which included saxophonist Julien Wilson. With long-term associates, bassist Philip Rex and drummer Niko Schauble, Saarelaht’s trio has added these six originals to his considerable repertoire.

The opening track — conversely titled Closing — is a densely chordal theme with an insistent rhythmic pattern interspersed with treble runs, soon giving way to a bass solo. The piano continues, working big chords into the assertive rhythm and weaving inspired, cyclical improvisation, first behind sooling drums and then at the forefront.

The title track develops a rolling theme to introduce Rex’s solo, with its skilful double and triple timing ahead of the piano’s flowing treble embellishments. Five Nineteen is a blues number, opening with a bass cadenza full of high-speed runs and intelligent ideas. When the piano arrives it is with a modal approach to the swinging bluesy theme, building the tension to introduce the breakout drum solo.

A semi-classical opening begins Then Again as a slow pulse emerges and Saarelaht embarks on an extensive, tasteful extemporisation. In a salute back to the earlier album Fiveways, the closing track embodies a quite nostalgic-sounding theme, which takes up a strong rhythm, maintained by the bass’s reiteration throughout an energetic drum solo and heading into a climax that draws a roar from the crowd in this live recording.

This is a superbly integrated trio displaying an extensive musical mosaic, led by a masterful pianist."

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