FULL REVIEW HERE

This Australian piano trio sounded rather too influenced by the Swedish trio E.S.T. on their debut Naim disc, Variations. This time around they are very much their own men, making highly attractive piano trio jazz with all the right modern flavours, from funky, chunky timing, to pop-friendly melodic hooks.
Take the track Cute - perfectly named for its lightly stepping melody which lures the listener in and its infectious beat which has the toes tapping from the start. Apparently drummer John Parker wrote it for his son, and it has all that childlike sense of fun about it, jumping from light step to crashing interlude and back again. And then pianist Sean Fora throws in a little Latin touch just for the hell of it.
Chase, which opens the album, has a country-tinged tune which reminds me a bit of Brad Mehldau's turn of musical phrase, but then goes minimalist with choppy, brushed rhythm, damped piano strings and Pat Marchisella's bass taking centre stage, before getting back to the tricksy-timed tune. Despite the cut and paste construction, it flows nicely.
In fact that is the hallmark of this album as a whole. I suspect the material was honed over lots of live playing because despite its complexities, especially rhythmically, it coheres wonderfully throughout.
If you miss the lamented E.S.T., have some Neil Cowley in your CD collection and sometimes find The Bad Plus play the jokes a little too strongly, The Gentle War will definitely hit the spot. And look out for them playing live over here next month. They start their eight-date tour in Southampton on 15 Feb, end at The Stables, Wavendon, on 25 Feb and come to The Cross in Moseley, Birmingham, on Wednesday 23 Feb.