Colin Vallon: Samares

One does not so much come upon the astute athletics at play within the soundscapes of pianist Colin Vallon as much as get lured, baited, then intrigued by them.

Vallon who, for whatever reason, has not been on the new release radar since the ancient precepts he brought to light on 2017's tranquilly vibrant Danse (ECM) and, before that and also on ECM, 2014's deftly defiant Le Vent and 2011's densely poetic Rruga. Taken together and disregarding time, they all lead to the cumulatively ecstatic "Mars," the regenerative "Timo," the passionate, reverberating, "Souche," and all nine crystal highlights that bring Samares to fruition.

Taking the studio as he has taken many a European stage since 1999 with the dedicated and wily simpatico rhythm duo of double bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Julian Sartorius Samares sculpts and reshapes; cajoles and coalesces with stunning fluidity and musicality. Vallon's lyrical melancholy is gritty yet comforting, always at the forefront, always on the sly.

Airy, emotional, and deeply satisfying, Vallon, —whose compositional style reflects equal leanings Bill Evans and Thom Yorke's compact slow burn sensory Radiohead crescendos—introduces Samares with the time-defying "Racine" leading to the previously praised "Mars." Locked in but independently eloquent, Moret, and Sartorius take hold of this one and dare? implore? beseech? the pianist to keep up. Keep up Vallon does, in aces, and the track becomes a driving rumination and rally song.

Named after one of Vallon's young children, "Lou" is that exquisite, spacious ballad you would rightfully expect from a new dad a contrasting joy mixed with a vague dread—moving steadily forward. Akin to the same forward tumbling enthusiasm that lies at the trio's heart, the spiraling, captivating arc of "Ronce," its deep insistent gallop giving way without resistance to the free-flowing ballet designs of Étincelle." Vallon and Sartorius seriously pas de deux, leaving it to Moret to shape and define. A twilight allusion, "Timo" (the pianist's second child) builds from a simple riff into a stirring prepared-piano improvisation storming towards the finish line.

Exemplifying yet again the trio's integral drive for forward motion Samaress' namesake track is total group-think; a giant leap forward in the open, communicative abilities of man and musician. With woodblocks jammed between the piano strings and awash in a mystery all its own, "Souche" rises like a mist across Lake Lugano. "Brin" is the closing mediation on the time it takes to create lasting beauty. And it does.