Nataniel Edelman Trio: Un Ruido De Agua

Born in Buenos Aires in 1991, Argentinean pianist Nataniel Edelman first met bassist Michael Formanek and saxophonist Michael Attias when studying in New York City. He maintained the ties and the outcome was the three sessions under Edelman's leadership in a Berlin studio in 2022 which resulted in Un Ruido De Agua. It is not the first time he has recorded with the reedman, as Attias joined Edelman for a tour in his homeland in 2021, where the pianist, an in-demand collaborator, also leads dates with his own trio.

The three principals combine five of the pianist's originals, four jointly credited pieces, and one by Attias. In the absence of a drummer, the set has a chamber feel, accentuated by the conversational three-way interplay that characterizes much of the album, whether composed or improvised. Edelman has a romantic outlook, setting out richly voiced frameworks around which bass and saxophone interweave. Formanek has that forthright resonant sound that calls for epithets like muscular and wiry, while in contrast, Attias blows light airy alto with a graceful dancing poise.

The opening two collective cuts offer assorted flavors of impressionism: luminous and moody on "The River," darker and nervier on "Unfolds." "Three Beats" is the pick of the remaining group concoctions, a shape-shifting beast that veers from spiky momentum to flickering ruminations. Edelman's charts vary from the vaguely wistful "Canción Del Vino," on which Attias' alto saxophone spirals, pirouettes, and sways engagingly to the abrupt staccato unison figures of "Voz," although they are overall largely consonant and colloquial.

However his "Pliegues" is the standout track. A perky bop-like thing that turns jittery as the thematic guard rails loosen, notable for how Attias builds this feature from a series of dissonant blurts. Attias adds the tonally subtle harmonics, murmurs, and whistles throughout, which serve as the grit that keeps this set from becoming overly sweet. His own "Femme-Centaure" completes the outing, an enigmatic offering with a slightly curdled theme with a brooding undercurrent of throbbing pizzicato and dark rippling piano.

There is a cohesion to the program and an intense communion associated with the delivery which draws the listener in and, once there, both entertains and soothes.