3Quietmen

3Quietmen / Stefano Battaglia: Bartokosmos

by Glenn Astarita
August 13, 2009

3Quietmen is a young Italian trio that draws inspiration from composer Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos, a prominent work consisting of 153 piano pieces. Fellow countryman and revered modern jazz pianist Stefano Battaglia joins the band for these pieces that waver between jazz and groove-based abstractions, shaded with electronics. It's a polytonal feast for the ears, as the musicians execute circular mini-motifs and cunning paradigm shifts, punchy ostinatos and brawny group-centric interplay.

Battaglia occasionally calms the waters via airy, jazz-based ...