EIVIND AUSTAD NEW ORLEANS TRIO - That Feeling
Losen – LOS248-2
Eivind Austad: piano; James Singleton: bass; Johnny Vidachovic: drums
Recorded 26th February 2018 by Jesse Snider at Esplanade Studios, New Orleans.
Having met Singleton and Vidachovic in 2014 on a visit to New Orleans, Austad returned in 2018 to record with them. The session, captured in a single day, consists of 4 original tunes by Austad and 4 versions of well-known tunes (ranging from George Harrison’s ‘Something’, track 6, to Ornette’s ‘Turnaround’ and ‘Basin Street Blues’, track 3, from Spencer Williams, and ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, track 7). The opening track sets out the trios stall – the rich bass sets up a swinging and infectious groove with Austad emphasising the tune with minimal use of the left hand (occasionally bringing chords to colour the piece, particularly where the bass solos. The overall sense of the first two Austad tunes is that these are not only pieces built on the Blues but also that, as he plays them, he is imagining lyrics that will capture his emotional response to the city. Ironically, on a tune like ‘Something’, he plays a melody that only vaguely hints at the lyrics and on the well-known hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, the melody in played as an emphatic march that segues into a joyful, near Ragtime bounce. This exuberance is captured in the closing track, which is album’s title, with Austad gradually fading in apparently mid-solo to start the track, and then he continues to swing joyfully as the track fades out after a couple of minutes. While this is the title track, the piece that I felt really shows how well this trio gels is ‘Esplanade Drive’, track 5. On this , the bass (like the opening track) sets up a groove, with shuffling drums and Austad plays a right hand melody. But whereas the focus on the opening two numbers was on conveying the melody, on this track the piece emphasises the unity of this trio – with subtle shifts in mood, start-stops within a bar, and the rhythm section finding more space to let loose, encouraging Austad to build his sparse, elegant solos.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen – LOS248-2
Eivind Austad: piano; James Singleton: bass; Johnny Vidachovic: drums
Recorded 26th February 2018 by Jesse Snider at Esplanade Studios, New Orleans.
Having met Singleton and Vidachovic in 2014 on a visit to New Orleans, Austad returned in 2018 to record with them. The session, captured in a single day, consists of 4 original tunes by Austad and 4 versions of well-known tunes (ranging from George Harrison’s ‘Something’, track 6, to Ornette’s ‘Turnaround’ and ‘Basin Street Blues’, track 3, from Spencer Williams, and ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, track 7). The opening track sets out the trios stall – the rich bass sets up a swinging and infectious groove with Austad emphasising the tune with minimal use of the left hand (occasionally bringing chords to colour the piece, particularly where the bass solos. The overall sense of the first two Austad tunes is that these are not only pieces built on the Blues but also that, as he plays them, he is imagining lyrics that will capture his emotional response to the city. Ironically, on a tune like ‘Something’, he plays a melody that only vaguely hints at the lyrics and on the well-known hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, the melody in played as an emphatic march that segues into a joyful, near Ragtime bounce. This exuberance is captured in the closing track, which is album’s title, with Austad gradually fading in apparently mid-solo to start the track, and then he continues to swing joyfully as the track fades out after a couple of minutes. While this is the title track, the piece that I felt really shows how well this trio gels is ‘Esplanade Drive’, track 5. On this , the bass (like the opening track) sets up a groove, with shuffling drums and Austad plays a right hand melody. But whereas the focus on the opening two numbers was on conveying the melody, on this track the piece emphasises the unity of this trio – with subtle shifts in mood, start-stops within a bar, and the rhythm section finding more space to let loose, encouraging Austad to build his sparse, elegant solos.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
