Nils Kugelmann Trio: Life Score

Life Score is the second album from the Nils Kugelmann Trio, following on from Stormy Beauty (ACT Music, 2022). That album (reviewed here) gestated during the pandemic, so there was little chance to test the pieces before going into the studio. This time around the tunes have been arranged and refined over numerous live appearances.

Kugelmann is a German bassist with a strong storytelling aspect to his music, as he explains: "For me, making the connection between music and stories, feelings and situations is so important." As with the debut album, he is joined by his like-minded collaborators, pianist Luca Zambito and drummer Sebastian Wolfgruber.

That narrative theme runs strongly through the album. It is not so much a novel as a series of short stories, each one distilled down to its essence, producing a sound that combines jazz, classical, rock and folk influences into distinctively catchy and concise pop melodies with broad appeal.

There is an element of drama in every piece; opening track "A Good Day" brims with intensity as strong driving rhythms and a powerful piano melody evolve into improvisation. This approach is taken with many of the tracks, nearly all of which have attention-grabbing melodies, unforeseen twists and use elements of repetition, which work together to make them memorable.

Kugelmann and Wolfgruber bring variety to their rhythms throughout the album. "Coffee in the Rain" stands out, with an engaging repeated piano motif layered over a driving rock-influenced beat. They skillfully build tension and energy, as heard in "Key Moment," which moves from a pulsing urgency to a thrashing close over Zambito's cascading piano runs. The only misstep comes with the title track, where the unchanging rhythm causes the piece to lose direction and focus.

Zambito delivers a consistently strong performance, his classically-inspired sense of flow and harmony shining through on "Turtles and Cocktails" and "The Unspoken Dreams of a Dragon." He pairs neatly with Kugelmann on "Waiting for Your Loved Ones," highlighting the trio's interplay. Every story needs a good ending, preferably one that is unforeseen, and that is what the trio delivers with the final track, "Dark Light." Beginning with a gentle folky piano melody, the piece moves through group interplay, centering on Kugelmann's bass, before building to a surprising and joyous conclusion.

Despite the concise nature of the compositions, Kugelmann still finds space to allow for some improvisation, but is the excitement and drama that drives these tunes, which one imagines would be crowd-pleasing live. This young band impresses through their quality in all aspects of their music, their freshness, vitality and energy will persuade and surprise many.

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