(In no order)

Misha Mullov-Abbado – Shanti Bell [LP: Cross Platform Interchange]
Verneri Pohjola – First Morning [LP: Pekka]
Alexi Tuomarila – Vagabond [LP: Kingdom]
Tomasz Stańko New York Quartet – December Avenue [LP: December Avenue]
Jeff “Tain” Watts – Water [LP: Blue Vol. 2]
Alex Goodman – Empty [LP: Second Act]
Joe Bowden – Devil Five [LP: Thank You For Listening]
Shahin Novrasli – Jungle [LP: Emanation]
Lucas Pino – Sidestep [LP: The Answer is No]
Mike Downes – Momentum [LP: Root Structure]
Entropi – Stelliferous Era [LP: Moment Frozen]
Danny Janklow – All in the Name of You [LP: Elevation]
Hervé Sellin – 3ème gnossienne [LP: Passerelles]
Grégory Sallet 5tet – Ailleurs #2 [LP: Le Mouvement Crée la Matière]
Tigran Hamasyan – Ancient Observer [LP: An Ancient Observer]
Linda May Han Oh – Firedancer [LP: Walk Against Wind]
Genzo Okabe – Disoriental [LP: Disoriental]
Lorenzo Naccarato – Komet [LP: Lorenzo Naccarato Trio]
Uri Gurvich – Blue Nomad [LP: Kinship]
Cowboys and Frenchmen – Uncommon Sense [LP: Bluer Than You Think]

ukvibe.org

Music breaks all barriers ~ this was apparent when the Alliance Française de Delhi, in collaboration with ICCR, presented a performance by the Lorenzo Naccarato Trio under the umbrella of the International Jazz Festival. Founded in 2012 with Adrien Rodriquez and Benjamin Naud, the Lorenzo Naccarato Trio became popular, on the emerging jazz scene through music festivals. The Trio won the Jazz Festival in Oloron in 2015 and at Paris in 2013; they were twice finalists at the jazz festivals in Baie and Vannes. Their first album was released on 11 March 2016 under the label Laborie Jazz. So, how did the group come about? After studying classical piano for 10 years, Lorenzo Naccarato began studying musicology at a university in Toulouse in 2007. Specialising in jazz and improv music, he conducted a research project on Thelonious Monk and took part in Master classes under Laurent Cugny, Franck Avitabile, Kenny Barron, Enrico Pieranunzi and Claude Tchamitchian, who became a determining influence on his approach to composition. The story of Benjamin Naud, on the drums, is somewhat similar. After a Bachelor’s degree in classical musicology, Naud entered the jazz section of Toulouse conservatoire, in 2007, to study drums.

He participated in improvisation workshops by Richard Calléja and then completed his studies with Christian Salut, at the Dante Agostini school. Between 2009 and 2012, he became the drummer of the blues band Mannish Boys and gave more than 150 concerts in Europe. Passionate about the South American repertoire, he recorded an album with Brazilian author, composer and interpreter Carlos Papel in 2011.

Looking for ensembles providing more space for improvisation, he discovered the compositions of Lorenzo Naccarato. Their musical affinity confirmed, they decided, in 2012, to form a trio with double bassist Adrien Rodriguez. In Delhi, the concert’s concept of kinematic jazz, in that the notion of movement lies at the heart of its musical exploration, was an aspect keenly appreciated by the audience and received with curiosity and intrigue.

Ashok Tuteja, The Statesman

It was amid a green expanse of land, illumined with pink, green, blue and yellow lights that Delhi was having its date with jazz. Ecstatic people, young and old, gathered at Nehru Park for the 7th Delhi International Jazz Festival, organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. After the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, the fest was started by a French band, Lorenzo Naccarato Trio. For 25 minutes, the crowd was treated to the melodious rhythm of the piano, bass and drums. Tapping and grooving, the crowd was seen swaying to the crescendos and the diminuendos. Joining them on stage next was 4 On A Swing, a band from Kolkata. The evening was brought to a close by a jazz group from Spain, Alfonso Aroca Flamenco.

"Jazz need not be understood, but it has to be enjoyed"
Lorenzo Naccarato Trio, who performed in Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune as part of their five-city maiden international tour in India, found India to be a place that is constantly moving. Apart from the language changes with each city, they also took interest in the onion dosa, idli, parantha, palak and chana-parantha and the famous 'cha'. Lorenzo, sharing one incident from his tour, said, "I met this tuk-tuk driver and wanted to have real cha, on the streets. So I asked him, let's have cha together. Since he didn't know English, he brought another man, Ravu, who was our translator. He took to me to a fantastic cha and kokora (pakora) shop. We spent good five hours together." Having been influenced by classical Italian music as well as French, Lorenzo thinks that jazz needn't be understood, but enjoyed by everyone."

Vaishali Soni, The Times of India - Dehli

Lorenzo Naccarato, the lead keyboardist of the Lorenzo Naccarato Trio, is known for his cinematic jazz. They have won several accolades including the Jazz Springboard in Oloron 2015. They were finalist in the Jazz in the Bay 2014, Jazz Springboard in Saint-Germain-des-Prés 2013 and also the Jazz Springboard in Vannes 2013. Their first album was released in March 2016.

Who or what is god according to you?

Lorenzo I prefer to use the word presence. If we accept and work on our sensitivity and emotions, I think we can learn to find a feeling of evidence in our existence.

What has been your most devilish encounter that made you (or not) a believer?

When France football team beat the Italians in 1998 World Cup. That was totally devil action, for me. Then 2006 victory of Italy, and maybe it made me believe in some justice, more than in god’s existence.

Is god is a man or woman? Why?

I think god is like a sound, or a resonance. More like a sort of wave of acoustic material.

Which musician do you want god to bring back from the dead?

Certainly music by Thelonious Monk, because listening to him has already changed my way of considering music, and life.

If you had a choice to argue your case for heaven and hell, what will you focus on?

I don’t believe in heaven and hell. I’d focus on my French-Italian talent in cooking food, specially. I can convince god to let me be a chef in heaven, especially making Tiramisu!

Which actor do you want god to look like?

Charlie Chaplin. Definitely.

Between god and devil, who would you want as your bodyguard?

Thelonious Monk. Or maybe my Italian uncle, Zio Roberto...Only the brave knows!

What would you do if you were god?

Build a star, and then travel over a comet through the cosmos.

If you were asked to perform for an audience of gods what would it be about?

I’d play some piano solo ballad, maybe Round Midnight or In A Sentimental Mood. And then, go prepare some pasta and drink red wine.

A quirky habit that you have in terms of being spiritual or a god believer?

I like the number three. Whenever I am scared of taking a plane, for example, I touch the wings three time before I get in.

Thushara Ann Mathew, The New Indian express

The Lorenzo Naccarato trio, comprising of Lorenzo Naccarato on the piano, Benjamin Naud on the drums and Adrien Rodriguez on the bass, is going on their first international music tour and the artistes have chosen our city first !

In a casual chat, the musicians share about their everyday live and their passion for music.

“It was summer in Italy and I was 15 years old. I loved music, but never had the opportunity to play to an audience before —until when I played for my family in the village! That was my first musical concert and is close to my heart,” begins Lorenzo. With more than ten years of experience in the industry, he has now played piano for hundreds of jazz concerts. During the course of his musical study, when Lorenzo was getting serious about his career, he met Adrien and Benjamin and initiated the Trio project in 2012. “These two are extraordinary musicians and I’m lucky to play with them,” he adds.

Pursuing different professions like teaching, music research, writing orchestrations and making film music, the musicians make time to meet up and practice before every concert. Adrien who works in cine concerts, shares, “All three of us are students of musicology and also performers. I work in cine concerts for which we play live between the public and the screen. The goal isn’t just the music; it needs to match the movie. It is very different from the actual concert — but both are fun, as long as I’m with notes!”

Talking about their upcoming Chennai concert, the trio shares, “We will present the Label Laborie Jazz album and some fresh compositions we recorded last month. We call our music, the kinematic jazz, because of the way the musical compositions are built and how we play them on stage. We want a mix of dynamism and emotion to free-flow while we play.” When asked about their musical inspiration, Lorenzo answers, “Many musicians have impacted our lives a great deal. The recent exposure we got was to Bon Iver’s music. We love the atmosphere and the orchestration of his album 22, A Million. The most important thing for us is when someone listens to our music and our way of playing the piano, drum or bass — and recognise that it’s us! Though we love voice, instrumental music still manages to capture the feelings of public and we love that challenge.”

Recalling one of their best concerts, Benjamin shares, “Each time, we try to connect with the public, but the Langourla Jazz Festival (France) was out of the world. When people clap and cheer with a lot of vitality, you just don’t want to stop. It was more of an interaction that was happening there than a performance and we loved it. It is one of our favourites till date!”

Revealing more about their bonding, the friends say, “We threw ourselves into learning music, discovered in-depth jazz language and improvised. When everyone tries to listen to each other, understand and share emotions, it is a great jamming session — and that happens to us every time we practice.”

The instrumentalists conclude by saying, “We want to keep developing the story we share as a band and our first international tour takes us one step closer. We also look forward to releasing our next album during spring.”

Priyanka Shankar, theasianage.com

Bengaluru has never run short of jazz experiences but when the city’s music lovers witness the Lorenzo Naccarato Trio this weekend, the encounter promises to be one of a different kind.

Comprising Lorenzo Naccarato on piano, Benjamin Naud on drums and Adrien Rodriguez on double bass, the Trio puts together an interesting amalgamation of influences and sounds that give their jazz a cinematic vibe. At the heart of the Trio's sound, frontman Lorenzo says, “Is ‘Kinematic Jazz’ – a word I chose years ago to describe how my compositions should be listened to and played.” The concept explores music as a cinematic experience themed on aural interactions made purely by the Trio’s music alone.

On their first international tour as a trio, the group is excited about the prospects of their visit. “A lot of work and energy has been put into making this adventure and dream come true. It also means the three of us get to make good memories together,” says Lorenzo.

He adds: “I’m also waiting to discover Indian culture and music in a holistic way and I love traditional instruments like the santur and tabla.”

On the setlist for the gig will be a mix of their first album Lorenzo Naccarato Trio and their upcoming second album Nova Rupta which will be released next spring. “All pieces are composed by me and arranged with Benjamin and Adrien. We hope that when people listen to us, they feel the love with which we play. Since we have some Italian roots, I’d say that at every concert, we play for our mothers,” he beams and adds: “We play for the people we love. But on a technical basis, one of the best feelings people can take away after seeing us is the connection and dynamics we build together.”

Starting in 2012, the Trio met in a French city called Toulouse. “I was finishing my university studies and had the luck to meet and play consecutively with Adrien and Benjamin. Right then, I was convinced that they were the right musicians to understand my music and build such a project.”

Looking back, Lorenzo says their journey has had a lot of struggle. “Being a musician is never easy. If we talk only about the music, it requires energy, practice and patience to become a good musician. But not only do you have to play your best, you also have to be able to sustain your project economically. For the trio, since the beginning, we are a team that is really close and we complement one another. This journey has been full of emotions and great encounters.” In the future, the Trio hopes to tour China and prepare for their second album launch. “We also hope to create a real link with India and come back as soon as possible to promote the album.

Allan Moses Rodricks, thehindu.com

French jazz band Lorenzo Naccarato Trio has chosen India for its first international tour. Comprising of pianist Lorenzo Naccarato, drummer Benjamin Naud and bassist Adrien Rodriguez, the trio was formed in 2012 when Lorenzo, who was in the last leg of his musical studies at a university in Toulouse at the time, met the other two to discuss music. Lorenzo recalls those early meetings. “I had the conviction that my music would work perfectly with theirs, and that our personalities would complement each other,” he says. Since then, they have released an album, recorded a second and are now set to tour through Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune and Delhi.

Bonding on fusion
The three musicians have been following a consistent method of producing new music. Led by Lorenzo’s piano tunes, the process elaborates with Adrien and Benjamin chipping in with their compositions. “I usually find the ideas for a new composition in a piano solo — be it a rhythmic cell, a melody or a harmonic sequence. I keep improving it until I’m satisfied and then I play it to the other two. This is where they are brilliant, since they understand and propose a lot of orchestration and arrangement ideas,” Lorenzo explains, adding that his influences range from Frédéric Chopin’s classical music to Erik Satie’s jazz tunes. The Trio has an impressive list of accomplishments so far, having won at festivals in Oloron (2015) and in Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Paris (2013).

Evolution of sounds
Lorenzo explains how the concept of movement or motion is at the core of their musical philosophies. “Our music has always been evolving from the first day. Our focus on the notion of movement prompts me to describe our music as ‘kinematic jazz’. I like to think about music like a place that is always in mutation, while at the same time always telling a story that you almost recognise,” he explains, recalling his first performance as a 15-year-old French immigrant in Scalea, Italy, with Paris-based jazz fusion musician Andy Emler as one of his mentors.Despite his French origins and his Italian memories, however, Lorenzo admits to liking the musical culture of Andalucia the most. “The Spanish community has strong flamenco influences and the people are very receptive to our way of playing. That said, I’m also interested in the way Indian musicians manage to immerse the audience in a deep meditative state before they start playing some incredible rhythmic and powerful combinations,” he explains, adding that they will also be releasing their second album next year.

Karan Pillai, indulgexpress.com, the New Indian express

In 2012, an French-Italian pianist, with strong knowledge of classical music and years of research about Thelonious Monk, decided to team up with two French musicians, Adrien Rodriguez (bass) and Benjamin Naud (drums), to create his first trio, producing this opus full of lyrism, energy and invention.

Even in the moments of quietness, we feel an amazing vital pulsation and a constant interaction between the three musicians, who complete and duel each other. The piano can take on moto continuo functions, the bass can incarnate a Hendrix electric guitar, and instead of setting the tempo, the drums become a timbre kaleidoscope..

José Carlos Fernandes, Observador (Portugal)

The Laborie Jazz label is back with a new find. Young pianist Lorenzo Naccarato leads Benjamin Naud (drums) and Adrien Rodriguez (double bass) into a twirling trio around his confident and enthusiastic playing.
The 5 tracks of the album definitely bear Lorenzo Naccarato's sparkling musical touch. Komet could be an introduction that sets the tone for the other compositions, reminding us somewhat of Shaï Maestro as he started working under the same label. This album, full of well-balanced melodies -whatever the tempo- reveals a strong musical conviction. Most attractive. Laborie Jazz is indeed a talent spotter enriching French jazz. Do not miss Lorenzo Naccarato Trio.

Nicolas Vidal, bscnews.fr

A jazz trio (piano-bass-drums), a first album with Laborie Jazz label in March 2016 and specific ideas about his music: let's meet Lorenzo Naccarato…

Music

Lorenzo It all started when I was seven: meeting a Swiss-Italian private piano and singing teacher made me want to dedicate myself to piano... My mother was there for me, she encouraged me. So I worked hard at learning music, and from seven to eighteen took private piano lessons, mostly classical. After high school, I moved to Toulouse, originally to pursue literary studies… But I decided to devote myself entirely to the study of music and jazz! I therefore enrolled in the jazz section of the musicology department of Toulouse University. As a child, I used to attend "Jazz dans le Bocage" festival in Allier, the region where I grew up. There I discovered artists like Marcus Miller, James Carter, Sophie Alour... But I really got interested in jazz when I was seventeen, thanks to Cuban music: I went to Jazz in Marciac just to listen to Roberto Fonseca, Bebo and Chucho Valdes, Richard Bona, Jamie Cullum…

Influences

The first musician who really made an impression on me and triggered a new approach of music was Ruben Gonzales, whom I discovered in the Buena Vista Social Club movie. Of course, Frédéric Chopin and Erik Satie, which I've always been playing, are also references! At about eighteen, I discovered Giovanni Mirabassi. But two major characters stand as absolute markers to me: Thelonious Monk, whose music –especially the silences– was a companion during the two years of my Master's degree, and Andy Emler, with whom I had the honor, these last few years, to exchange views about my compositions, my approach of music, but also life…

Five keys for jazz

What's jazz? It's a lovely way to approach music… According to me, jazz favors the notions of sharing, adventure and boldness!
Why being passionate about jazz? It allows me to shape my perception and understand that of the musicians I play with…
Where's the best place to listen to jazz? Anywhere is fine, but do it with your heart!
What's the best way to discover jazz? You have to go to concerts...
Any anecdote to share about jazz? While they're recording "The Man I love", Monk and Miles Davis don't understand each other at one point, and Monk stops playing: that's his most famous silence.

Chinese portrait

If I were an animal, I would be a billy goat, stubborn, playful and determined…
If I were a flower, I would be a snowdrop, my mum's favorite!
If I were a fruit, I would be a papaya, because I was born in French Guiana and there's a photo of me as a baby in front of a massive papaya…
If I were a drink, I would be Chinotto or coffee
If I were a meal, I would be risotto
If I were a letter, I would be Z
If I were a word, I would be infinite
If I were a number, I would be 2
If I were a color, I would be red
If I were a note, I would be D-flat

Musical joys and regrets

I'm happy to be a musician, to make a living playing the music that drives me, with people I love… I have no regret whatsoever! I think that nowadays you need a lot of patience and determination to be able to grow and progress on the jazz scene. I've sometimes felt weary of all the efforts needed to find gigs, keep the trio alive, make a name for myself... But I tend to look ahead of me, so there's no room for regrets… On the contrary!

On a desert island…

Which albums? Yesterday You Said Tomorrow by Christian Scott, Live in Tokyo by Monk and Another One by Mac DeMarco.
Which books? Anything I can find from Italo Calvino, Tintin albums and one Sherlock Holmes.
Which movies? City Lights by Charlie Chaplin and Buena Vista Social Club.
Which paintings? Vassily Kandinsky, Jean-Michel Basquiat…
Which hobbies? My Neapolitan deck of cards and something to play with: piano, ball, ping-pong…

Plans

Above all, continue to musically develop within the trio: since I became a professional musician -I was nineteen then-, it's the first time I work with a record company, a manager and a publisher… For the first time, I can dedicate myself entirely to musical practice and creation! And I'm eagerly waiting to record my second album at Studio Sextan, still with Laborie Jazz and the trio!

Three wishes…

To love. To play. To live.

Bob Hatteau, Journal de bord, Jazz à bâbord

The three kids are made of the same stuff as major trios like The Bad Plus, E.S.T., Kühn Jenny-Clark Humair. This is an actual band where the pianist is also an amazing composer, the double bassist Adrien Rodriguez shows his uniqueness and draws incredible sounds from his instrument, with the bow or through effects. Benjamin Naud, the drummer with velvety hands, is attentive and elegantly wraps all the stories told by the band to take us with them.
Jazz News dedicated half a page to the trio recently.
As we scheduled them, we did not imagine they would reach the forefront of the French jazz scene in just a few months.

Robert Peyrillou, Souillac en Jazz blog

It would be fair to say that Lorenzo Naccarato is a young promising pianist and that his trio, with eponymous album "Lorenzo Naccarato trio" (label Laborie, distribution Socadisc), is very encouraging. Fair but also harsh, for the intention behind this music is certainly higher than that. Starting today, starting right now. The pianist expresses not only the world he is coming from -classical and XXth-century music, Debussy's, Ravel's, Satie's- but also an elusive world, therefore very personal and very beautiful, that's specific to him. He's accompanied by Adrien Rodriguez (b) and Benjamin Naud (dm) who generate a kind of balance, but a delicate one, since they are constantly bringing themselves into play and challenging themselves -which perfectly matches the pianist's intention.

Michel Arcens, notesdejazz.unblog.fr

In 2010, in a master class by Claude Tchamitchian, pianist Lorenzo Naccarato meets double bassist Adrien Rodriguez. Two years later, they form a trio with Benjamin Naud on the drums.
The first album, Lorenzo Naccarato Trio, is released on Laborie Jazz on March 10th 2016. It contains five tracks by Naccarato. The trio is not centered on the pianist and tries to collectively develop the themes: with its ostinatos and the dry and muted stroke of the drums, "Komet" verges on pop; from a pedal point on the piano, followed by Eastern-sounding loops, "Animal Locomotion" unfolds on a repetitive movement, with a powerful but minimalist bass and a tingling drum; "Breccia" is a tasteful ballade; the splashes on the cymbals and the emphatic bow give "Mirko Is Still Dancing" a majestic character; with sustained riffs and circular motifs on the piano, and the double bass sounding like an electric guitar, "Heavy Rotation" has a rock feel to it.
Lorenzo Naccarato Trio presents an attractive, dense and well-mastered music.

Bob Hatteau, Journal de bord, Jazz à bâbord

These last few years, we've often heard about Lorenzo Naccarato's trio, especially in the Toulouse area. They performed at the Jazz sur son 31 festival, also in Querbes, Millau, Luchon, Muret… Not to mention Vannes, Saint-Germain and Oloron springboards, where they made a very good impression. This promising ensemble is releasing a first album. An EP, actually, and if there is one (relative) demerit to point out, it is the length of the record, just over 30 minutes. We are hoping this is a mere appetizer before a more substantial album.
Philippe Fayret did compare them to E.S.T. and Avishai Cohen. These references may be too prestigious to be immediately relevant: there are plenty of bands, especially in a piano/bass/drums configuration, brought up on the music of the Swedish trio or the American bassist. Also, referring to E.S.T. or Avishai Cohen is always too pompous. Too much praise can prove unhelpful. Still, it is difficult to avoid mentioning these bands as Lorenzo Nacarrato's trio chooses a repetitive music based, among other things, on motif development.
Adrien Rodriguez's style on the double bass is not exactly that of Dan Berglund. He doesn't use effects pedals so much, especially distorsion. However, sound transformation is a key element in Adrien Rodriguez's playing, as is the bow's frequent use. But the most convincing analogy with the extremely famous Swedish trio is the link between jazz and pop. For the trio's music doesn't swing -at least not very often. Benjamin Naud's drums play a huge role in this, bringing more power than swing, especially in "Komet" and "Heavy Rotation". This eponymous album is a nice piece of work, but really too short to quench the thirst for emotions provided by the trio. We are eagerly waiting for more.

Gilles Gaujarengues, Citizen Jazz

Faced with the profusion of records published each month, it seems right, even necessary, to mention a few. They deserve, through their qualities, their originality, to be underlined. Of course, they are not the only ones to stand out. But one would need 48 hours per day to listen to everything and claim to be exhaustive! We will just cite one among the most worthy of interest.
The album of a young pianist, Lorenzo Naccarato, whose performances in trio, in Toulouse and in the South-West, generated an understandable curiosity amongst jazz lovers. Not due to an exceptional piano technique: nowadays, all young musicians out from music schools or conservatoires show a command of their instrument that their elders did not always have. Many, like Naccarato who studied classical piano for ten years, have a solid background. And they are curious enough to be open to all kinds of music.
What sets him apart (and his trio with Adrien Rodriguez and Benjamin Naud) lies elsewhere. True, the conventional piano-bass-drums model is present. But the harmony is such between the three partners that the processing of the leader's compositions shows a rare unity in sensitivity and inspiration. Each musician, part of a collective approach, conveys the pianist's ideas according to his own personality, providing counterpoints, developments or comments. So much so that the audience thinks they are witnessing some spontaneous creation whose cohesion results from a genuine complicity.
There is no doubt that this first eponymous album imperfectly reflects the impression of extreme freshness produced during concerts. But not only did it allow us to discover young musicians full of talent, it is a way of better grasping, even analyzing the pianist's way. It can certainly not be reduced to that of his masters, be they stated or implicit: Thelonious Monk for his use of silence, Jacky Terrasson for his percussive touch and rhythmic figures. Even Keith Jarrett for the use of reiteration. If that reiteration may sometimes seem a little too systematic, it serves as a springboard for the development of his imagination -which draws as much on jazz as on classical and contemporary music. This is Antaeus drawing strength from earth, and such resurgences are often heavenly for the audience.

Jacques Aboucaya, salon-litteraire.com

Rumbling of the double bass. Slow and dense, the deep scratching of the bow hair against the strings opens the concert; the instrument's vibration, as it reaches the audience, physically reminds them of the difference between live and recorded music.

A kinetic trio
While the double bassist's left fingers enthusiastically hit the strings or brush them to extract harmonics, the drums take the floor with a variety of rhythms, tones and nuances, as if actually talking, whispering or, at times, blowing up. Far from sticking to ride pattern or walking bass, the two instruments complete the piano's obsessive tunes. The latter —body open, bare strings and hammers— is exposed to the gestures of the pianist, who plays his riffs as if the keys were burning hot but, out of pleasure or provocation, was back at them with increasing confidence and purpose. Then, seeming to apologize, the musician bends until, eyes level with the keyboard, gaze riveted to the keys, he comforts them with his touch for the space of a falling scale or a few notes. Rooted in jazz, the young trio develops its style by calling upon other musical techniques or styles and by exploring the instruments' potential.
The improvising musicians make each piece vary with every performance, expressing some instantaneous quality, their actual feelings, emancipating themselves from a too rigid structure. Their music features rather conceptual passages and unseizable tunes. Still, it offers itself to the public in a manner that's quite intuitive, even obsessive, especially through the melodies on the piano. Each piece seems to have grown from a few notes' loop —a theme that inexorably repeats itself, like a minimal riff in electronic music. Initiating a kind of movement, this tune establishes itself, gets shattered, then lands in the hands of the next musician —until all instruments join in. Several atmospheres emerge during the course of this movement, between grand gestures and meditative moments, chases and melancholic wanderings. Then, images, signs of an almost cinematographic narration, surface from the illustrative aspects of this kinetic music —as the trio likes to define it.

Multi-handed movement
At the en of the first piece Animal Locomotion, the heat from the lighting and concentration has made the young men take their jackets off. Lorenzo, the pianist, presents the 4-year old group and explains their musical intentions. His speech is simple, scattered with a few autobiographical data. He briefly gives musical points of reference and interpretation paths, without saying too much, just enough for the audience to visualize the images or ideas behind what they hear.
While the compositions are from Lorenzo, it's the meeting of the three musicians and their collective work that actually give birth to the ensemble. The concert includes several very expressive solos, but it is not about showing off any technical prowess. Their dexterity serves the global form of each piece, during which they converse or come together to develop an idea. Resulting from the exploration of their respective instruments —many aspects of which are exploited— and from an inventive and sensitive construction, their repertoire conveys a feeling of movement within the sound patterns, but also in the form of communication that seems to exist. Like in a conversation, ideas and feelings circulate, get exchanged, both between them and with the public.
Their universe is revealed to us not only through their music, but also through their playing: you can of course hear this circulation or communication idea, but you can also see it. When they make eye contact before placing the next sentence with utmost synchronization. When the double bassist, the instrument nestled against him like a dance partner, nods and smiles at the section just played by his colleague. And finally when the pianist, looking away from his hands racing over the keyboard, smiles at the audience, conveying the pleasure, the unpretentious pride of what's being told.

Gladys Vantrepotte, Le clou dans la planche