Oskar Aichinger: Elements Of Poetry

Modern jazz could always use a spirited spin on the piano trio format. Here, pianist Oskar Aichinger leads his trio through a series of pieces that parallel the pianist’s overall interest with various influential elements or nuclei. The trio crafts unruffled themes marked by poignant lyricism with a style of execution that might invoke notions of - riding a tail wind in the sky or sitting on a cloud with not a care in the world which is evident on the opener, “Poemia Trois” and other tracks. On “Elements of Poetry I”, Aichinger and co. pursue linear motifs and rich harmonies amid briefly stated melodies, which could indeed resemble poetic rhyme and/or verse. Here, bassist Achim Tang’s low register arco-bass performance along with drummer Paul Skrepek Jun’s rolling toms and Aichinger’s gentle pluck of the piano strings elicits intricate and at times, ethereal dialogue via multidimensional frameworks. “Loose Calypso” contains fragmented lines and simply stated patterns as the band conveys some sort of dreamlike rendition of what might be considered a Caribbean induced theme. Elements of Poetry is a concoction of pieces that do indeed, probe the mind’s eye! In summary, the pianist conjures up an interesting series of tone poems that emanate from what could be considered, uneventful everyday experiences that are largely taken for granted as Aichinger’s personalized sense of poetic justice is unabashedly set to music.

* * * ½ (out of * * * * *)

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