Christoph Irniger Trio - Gowanus Canal (2013)

The pieces on this album celebrate melody without once degenerating into the trivial. They are tone poems which demonstrate that accessible melodies and complex tonal worlds need not be mutually exclusive and can in fact make sense of each other. This is achieved because the rhythm section push the sonorous potential of their instruments way further than most classical trios. Using tones of every shade and colour, the drums and bass succeed in expanding the three-piece ensemble into a veritable orchestra. It is the tone which makes this music, and the virtue of restraint which gives it its power.