LRK TRIO - Memory Moment
Losen: LOS 252-2
Evgeny Lebedev: piano, synth; Anton Revnyuk: upright bass, electric bass, programming; Ignat Kravtsov: drums, sampling pad, percussion, metallophone; Grzech Piotrowski: soprano sax; Ensemble Alyonushka: vocals.
Recorded in December 2019 by Yakov Zakhvatkin at Cinelab Studio, Moscow.
On this set, you get the sides of LRK Trio that have been a staple of their sound over these past years: crystal clear piano and bass, and a strong sense of rhythm that sits just between jazz and rock and gives an immediacy to tunes like ‘Petrushka’, track 9, or the slower ‘Long Day’, track 2, or ‘Evening’, track 3. Interspersed with the longer pieces is a triptych of wistful, beautifully controlled bass solos (‘If’, track 5, ‘To’, track 8 and ‘Return’, track 10). Theirs is a sound in which Lebedev’s piano lines, in particular is immediately recognisable.
Lest they be accused of resting on their laurels, they continue to experiment with different textures, either from electronics or from their collaborators. So, they’ve worked previously to great effect with saxophonist Masha Art and, on this set, call on the talents of Grzech Piotrowski to add soprano sax to embellish the piano’s tune.
The title piece, ‘Memory moment, track 6, begins with an intriguing experiment in electronica, before fretless bass and rumbling piano segue into theme. As the piece closes, synthesiser and piano battle for the tune before the piece signs off with a ticking pulse.
Adding to their musical experiments, track 7, ‘Through the winter’ begins with a choir singing what could be a ghostly hymn before the piano introduces a melody which feels as if it is drawing together a medieval madrigal and a contemporary pop song into what could easily be a modern jazz Standard. Throughout this piece, other sounds are incorporated – sounding to me like branches breaking or ice cracking or footsteps in snow of the harshest of Russian winters. But this does not mean that there is no warmth to be found on this far; far from it, the album is brimming with hot rhythms and cool melodies to make you want to wrap up warm indoors and enjoy the music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen: LOS 252-2
Evgeny Lebedev: piano, synth; Anton Revnyuk: upright bass, electric bass, programming; Ignat Kravtsov: drums, sampling pad, percussion, metallophone; Grzech Piotrowski: soprano sax; Ensemble Alyonushka: vocals.
Recorded in December 2019 by Yakov Zakhvatkin at Cinelab Studio, Moscow.
On this set, you get the sides of LRK Trio that have been a staple of their sound over these past years: crystal clear piano and bass, and a strong sense of rhythm that sits just between jazz and rock and gives an immediacy to tunes like ‘Petrushka’, track 9, or the slower ‘Long Day’, track 2, or ‘Evening’, track 3. Interspersed with the longer pieces is a triptych of wistful, beautifully controlled bass solos (‘If’, track 5, ‘To’, track 8 and ‘Return’, track 10). Theirs is a sound in which Lebedev’s piano lines, in particular is immediately recognisable.
Lest they be accused of resting on their laurels, they continue to experiment with different textures, either from electronics or from their collaborators. So, they’ve worked previously to great effect with saxophonist Masha Art and, on this set, call on the talents of Grzech Piotrowski to add soprano sax to embellish the piano’s tune.
The title piece, ‘Memory moment, track 6, begins with an intriguing experiment in electronica, before fretless bass and rumbling piano segue into theme. As the piece closes, synthesiser and piano battle for the tune before the piece signs off with a ticking pulse.
Adding to their musical experiments, track 7, ‘Through the winter’ begins with a choir singing what could be a ghostly hymn before the piano introduces a melody which feels as if it is drawing together a medieval madrigal and a contemporary pop song into what could easily be a modern jazz Standard. Throughout this piece, other sounds are incorporated – sounding to me like branches breaking or ice cracking or footsteps in snow of the harshest of Russian winters. But this does not mean that there is no warmth to be found on this far; far from it, the album is brimming with hot rhythms and cool melodies to make you want to wrap up warm indoors and enjoy the music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
