Lucas Niggli Zoom: Spawn Of Speed

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

Recent articles (1,632 total)

Published: June 1, 2001

Multi-talented Swiss drummer/percussionist Lucas Niggli extends his already vast repertoire with this tightly organized trio featuring trombonist Nils Wogram and guitarist Philipp Schaufelberger. With the opener, “Oxygene Beats” the listener will be treated to sprightly Caribbean motifs interspersed with rapid fire, jazz-based unison choruses. Throughout, Niggli handles the percussion chores yet exhibits a thoroughly musical approach via his acute multihued tonal shading, propelling rhythms and feisty interaction with his band-mates.

The trio’s often complex arrangements feature free-jazz type dialogue, rock rhythms, abstract thematic inventions and probing statements. On “Poems & Theorems I: Brain Ballad”, Schaufelberger and Wogram temper the oscillating flow with softly stated lyricism atop Niggli’s delicate brush work. However, “Light Night”, features a series of expertly executed yet difficult to perform time signatures amid interludes of subtle nuance and highly charged exchanges. Essentially, there’s a whole lot going on here, as the music seemingly emanates and converges from within diametrically opposed angles in concurrence with the band’s imaginative excursions. Recommended!

Intakt

Track Listing: Oxygene Beats, Superblues, Spawn and Speed, Poems & Theorems I: Brain Ballad, Hoax, Light Night, Blue & Grey, Poems & Theorems II: Alma, Evergreen, Poems & Theorems III: No Noodle, Poems & Theorems IV: Peace, Lost, Poems & Theorems V: Sch!

Personnel: Nils Wogram; trombone: Philipp Schaufelberger; guitar: Lucas Niggli; drums & percussion

Record Label: Intakt Records
Style: Modern Jazz