TONY TIXIER - The Life Of Sensitive Creatures
Whirlwind WR4716
Tony Tixier - piano; Karl McComas-Reichi - bass; Tommy Crane - drums
Tony Tixier made waves as a child prodigy in his native France; he’s written extensively for larger ensembles and currently plays in the bands of Christian Scott, Seamus Blake and Wallace Roney, so you might expect some pretty bold, tough-swinging statements from this latest release. Instead he’s presenting a trio of highly personal, intimate sounding originals, spiced with a handful of interpretations of pop tunes from across the ages of the American Songbook. Tixier has a light, fluid touch, able to move seamlessly from hushed block chords to rippling streams of notes - his playing is highly virtuosic but he never hits you over the head with it, as the impressive technique is throughout subordinated to the creation of delicate, introspective mood even in the more uptempo numbers. There are clear echoes of Keith Jarret and Maurice Ravel - ‘Calling Into Quesion’ has a wistful, gently uplifting feel that clearly evokes Jarret’s European quartet, ‘Home At Last” is a dark, propulsive blues with a strong hint of McCoy Tyner; Louis Armstrongs’ venerable “Tight Like Me’ is turned into a headlong rush of right-hand runs reminiscent of Chick Corea over a modishly broken-beat ostinato - ‘Blind Jealously Of A Paranoid’ recalls Corea again, in the era of ‘Now He Sings, Now He Sobs’, and is nowhere near as abrasive as the title suggests - ‘I Remember The Time Of Plenty’ is an affectingly introspective opening number with Jarrett’s mix of European, jazz and free influences, that also parallels some of the Neil Cowley trio’s characteristic minor chording over pulsing straight eighths.
The writing is a nicely balanced blend of precision and freedom, and McComas-Reichi and Crane are perfect partners, empathetically supportive, capable of following the flow of the music and supporting wherever it goes, and with emphatic but un-flashy chops - Crane’s drum breaks on ‘Denial Of Love’ catch the attention. Overall a very satisfying, well conceived and immaculately executed entry into the crowded piano-trio field that should make waves.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Whirlwind WR4716
Tony Tixier - piano; Karl McComas-Reichi - bass; Tommy Crane - drums
Tony Tixier made waves as a child prodigy in his native France; he’s written extensively for larger ensembles and currently plays in the bands of Christian Scott, Seamus Blake and Wallace Roney, so you might expect some pretty bold, tough-swinging statements from this latest release. Instead he’s presenting a trio of highly personal, intimate sounding originals, spiced with a handful of interpretations of pop tunes from across the ages of the American Songbook. Tixier has a light, fluid touch, able to move seamlessly from hushed block chords to rippling streams of notes - his playing is highly virtuosic but he never hits you over the head with it, as the impressive technique is throughout subordinated to the creation of delicate, introspective mood even in the more uptempo numbers. There are clear echoes of Keith Jarret and Maurice Ravel - ‘Calling Into Quesion’ has a wistful, gently uplifting feel that clearly evokes Jarret’s European quartet, ‘Home At Last” is a dark, propulsive blues with a strong hint of McCoy Tyner; Louis Armstrongs’ venerable “Tight Like Me’ is turned into a headlong rush of right-hand runs reminiscent of Chick Corea over a modishly broken-beat ostinato - ‘Blind Jealously Of A Paranoid’ recalls Corea again, in the era of ‘Now He Sings, Now He Sobs’, and is nowhere near as abrasive as the title suggests - ‘I Remember The Time Of Plenty’ is an affectingly introspective opening number with Jarrett’s mix of European, jazz and free influences, that also parallels some of the Neil Cowley trio’s characteristic minor chording over pulsing straight eighths.
The writing is a nicely balanced blend of precision and freedom, and McComas-Reichi and Crane are perfect partners, empathetically supportive, capable of following the flow of the music and supporting wherever it goes, and with emphatic but un-flashy chops - Crane’s drum breaks on ‘Denial Of Love’ catch the attention. Overall a very satisfying, well conceived and immaculately executed entry into the crowded piano-trio field that should make waves.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
