The Gentle War Trichotomy

• 1 Chase 05:03
• 2 Wrestle 07:31
• 3 Blues For The Space 08:45
• 4 The Gentle War 06:51
• 5 Cute 05:43
• 6 Sync 04:40
• 7 Shut Up 04:40
• 8 Not According To Plan 07:19
• Total Runtime 50:32

Info for The Gentle War

Der über die Jahre entwickelte eigenständige Stil, den das Trio aus UK uns hier darbietet, ist ein flotter, rockiger Jazz, der es jedoch schafft, dass das Piano nicht in den Hintergrund rückt oder vernachlässigt wird, sondern als das dynamische Instrument, das es nun mal ist, tonangebend in Szene gesetzt wird. Die melodischen, zum Mitwippen einladenden Stücke (gleich der Opener „Chase“ ist so eines) werden teilweise von ruhigen, ambienten Liedern unterbrochen („Blues For The Space“), gegen Ende wird’s einem dann eher mulmig. „Shut Up“ ist wohl das Paradebeispiel dafür, wie gut man ein Piano und eine raue E-Gitarre miteinander vereinen kann. Bedrohliche Riffs unterstreichen das Klavier, das die Geschichten maßgeblich zum Ausdruck bringt. Ganz wichtig für die Gesamtheit des Albums ist übrigens die Fähigkeit der drei, verschiedene Elemente und Stilrichtungen so geschickt zu kombinieren, dass man unabhängig von seiner eigenen Stimmung in der Lage ist, dem Album von Anfang bis Ende zu folgen. Das ist großartig gelungen. Kurz zum Klang: Astrein, damit reizt man seinen Wandler und vor allem die Lautsprecher ordentlich aus. In meinen Augen gehört „The Gentle War“ zum Pflichtprogramm des Jahres. Irgendwie habe ich das Gefühl, dass Naim Label ein Gefühl dafür hat, dass Hochbit-Musik auch Spaß machen kann. (Christian Rechenbach, Einsnull)

“a wonderfully unpredictable album…dramatic and effective” (BBC.co.uk)

'this is a genuine trio, with three equally important parts, and they never put a foot or finger wrong' 5 stars! (BBC Music Magazine)

Sean Foran, Piano
John Parker, Drums
Pat Marchisella, Acoustic bass

TRICHOTOMY are one of Australia’s most inventive contemporary music ensembles. So much more than a traditional jazz trio, this group expands the capacities of the classic piano/ bass/drums combination with elements of the avant-garde and a fresh attitude they bring to their music. Truly captivating for a variety of audiences, TRICHOTOMY skillfully blend dense, exciting improvisations and delicate atmospherics, conjuring up sounds of modern jazz, ambient music, avant-garde rock, free improvisation and contemporary classical music.

Formed as ‘Misinterprotato’ in 1999 while studying at the Queensland Conservatorium, the group’s sound is driven by award winning pianist Sean Foran, teamed with John Parker’s expansive dynamic and timbral range on percussion and Patrick Marchisella’s visceral touch on the double bass.

After 2 acclaimed albums released in their native Australia, ”Variations” their third album, was released on the British NAIM label in 2010. It features a variety of melodic and rhythmic landscapes, with the relaxed structures of Foran and Parker’s intimate songwriting decorated by the group’s spontaneous musicality. The 'variations' come from the mood and texture created by the intuitive interplay between the three members of Trichotomy and the subtle balance between delicate textural explorations and vigorous driving pieces. They shift effortlessly from beautifully subtle ballads such as ‘Please’ and ‘Ascent’ to the densely ferocious ‘Chunk’ (where Marchisella's bass sounds more like a distorted electric guitar), ‘The Unknown’ whose disjointed rhythms sound completely natural, and ‘Variations on a bad day’ which moves from single piano notes to dense polyrhythmic phrases in a fraction of a second.

Inspired by a diverse range of influences from Aphex Twin to Vijay Iyer, and Tortoise to The Bad Plus, Trichotomy’s music combines a dense rhythmic focus with the melodic clarity of a Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau or Stravinsky and like fellow Australians The Necks, whom they cite as an early influence, there is a remarkable attention to detail and a desire to allow ideas to develop naturally within their music. A key focus is the balance between piano/bass/drums, with the trio maintaining a free flowing three way conversation with no one dominating and all contributing integral parts. Compositions often find a fine balance between heavily notated sections then completely free improvisations.

TRICHOTOMY have performed around Australia at the Wangaratta Jazz festival, Woodford Folk Festival and Melbourne International jazz Festival, Brisbane Jazz Festival, Valley Jazz Festival, and the Apollo Bay Festival, among others. Internationally the trio have also appeared at the Calgary International Jazz Festival Canada, the Kutchan Jazz Festival Japan, World Expo Japan and China, and toured Japan several times. In 2009 they were invited to showcase at the prestigious MIDEM music conference in Cannes, France and in 2010 toured the UK to wide critical acclaim.

In 2011 they release their new album “THE GENTLE WAR” on NAIM and follow this with a UK tour in February a performance at JAZZAHEAD Bremen in April & a Chinese tour in May.

Booklet for The Gentle War