The Mads Vinding Trio: Six Hands, Three Minds, One Heart

As the album’s title indicates, any member of this near–clairvoyant trio could be its nominal leader, as the three work together like a well–oiled machine throughout this marvelous session, recorded live in June ’99 at the Jazzhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark. But bassist Vinding has worked before in trio settings with award–winning drummer Riel (in fact, they’ve been playing together for about thirty–five years, or roughly as long as pianist Carsten Dahl has been breathing) so it’s his name that appears on the marquee. This is in fact Vinding’s third trio — Italian Enrico Pieranunzi was the pianist in the first, American Roger Kellaway in the second. I’ve not heard either of those groups, but if they’re anywhere near as good as this one I’d certainly like to. Dahl’s piano is by turns bright and melodious or hushed and somber, according to what is needed at a given moment, while Vinding’s warm, resonant bass deftly anticipates and underscores his every nuance and Riel, using brushes or sticks, adds the appropriate splashes of color and rhythm to each theme. These include a number of familiar melodies — the standards “I Hear a Rhapsody,” “Autumn Leaves” and “I Can’t Get Started,” Miles Davis’ “All Blue,” Bill Evans’ “Blue in Green” — as well as Dahl’s subdued “Salme Ved Vejs Ende,” Vinding’s brief “Bass Transition” and “Autumn Prelude,” Egil Harder’s “Den Blå Anemone” and two numbers — “Kristallen Den Fina” and the aptly named “Trio Interlude” — composed (perhaps on the spot, but that’s an unlikely hypothesis, considering their sophistication) by “the trio.” While Dahl is the principal soloist, Vinding and Riel have their auspicious moments as well, especially on “Rhapsody,” “Anemone,” “All Blues,” “Blue in Green” and an up-tempo reading of “Autumn Leaves.” Charming music, marvelously performed.

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