BRUNO HEINEN TRIO - Out Of Doors
Self-released
Bruno Heinen: piano; Andrea di Biase: bass; Gene Calderazzo: drums
Recorded 9th- 10th September 2019 by Chris Lewis at Livingston Studio
Leaving aside the observation that this set has a title that has grown unintentionally ironic, this is a suite of 8 movements for jazz trio. The pieces were inspired by Bartok’s Hungarian folk melodies (‘8 improvisations op 20’ for those who like to delve into the rabbit warrens of pieces inspired by other pieces; although you might also look to Duke Ellington, Alice Coltrane, or Chick Corea, Ravel or Ligeti for foundations). Having listed a bunch of sources (all of which were noted in the press release for this album, but several of which are immediately apparent on listening to the set), none of these individually account for the structure of the pieces or the way that the trio play together. You can hear glimpses of the folk inspiration, for instance, in the motifs in ‘Devil’s Ditty’, track 2, but this is disguised by the scurrying bassline and scuttling drum work.
Elsewhere, the snatches of Bartok from Heinen’s piano are slightly harder to disentangle from his heavy, dissonant chords on some of the tunes, or the gently flowing arpeggios behind the unfolding melody (say, on ‘Mirror’, track 7). Di Biase’s bass playing shifts seamlessly from the bop on the opening track, to the controlled arco playing on ‘Fool in the Grave’ (where he makes the bass sound like a ‘cello, with hints of Dvorak, another composer inspired by folk tunes), to an echo of Heinen in his more classical moods. Heinen swaps piano for keyboard on ‘Look before you leap’ (track 5) and the closing track, ‘Homecoming’, making full use of the burbling treble of this instrument. All in all, this set presents a set of well-wrought compositions from the always interesting Heinen, played with style and panache by a trio of musicians at the peak of their form.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Self-released
Bruno Heinen: piano; Andrea di Biase: bass; Gene Calderazzo: drums
Recorded 9th- 10th September 2019 by Chris Lewis at Livingston Studio
Leaving aside the observation that this set has a title that has grown unintentionally ironic, this is a suite of 8 movements for jazz trio. The pieces were inspired by Bartok’s Hungarian folk melodies (‘8 improvisations op 20’ for those who like to delve into the rabbit warrens of pieces inspired by other pieces; although you might also look to Duke Ellington, Alice Coltrane, or Chick Corea, Ravel or Ligeti for foundations). Having listed a bunch of sources (all of which were noted in the press release for this album, but several of which are immediately apparent on listening to the set), none of these individually account for the structure of the pieces or the way that the trio play together. You can hear glimpses of the folk inspiration, for instance, in the motifs in ‘Devil’s Ditty’, track 2, but this is disguised by the scurrying bassline and scuttling drum work.
Elsewhere, the snatches of Bartok from Heinen’s piano are slightly harder to disentangle from his heavy, dissonant chords on some of the tunes, or the gently flowing arpeggios behind the unfolding melody (say, on ‘Mirror’, track 7). Di Biase’s bass playing shifts seamlessly from the bop on the opening track, to the controlled arco playing on ‘Fool in the Grave’ (where he makes the bass sound like a ‘cello, with hints of Dvorak, another composer inspired by folk tunes), to an echo of Heinen in his more classical moods. Heinen swaps piano for keyboard on ‘Look before you leap’ (track 5) and the closing track, ‘Homecoming’, making full use of the burbling treble of this instrument. All in all, this set presents a set of well-wrought compositions from the always interesting Heinen, played with style and panache by a trio of musicians at the peak of their form.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
