08 March 2010
Jazzwise
Selwyn Harris


Sean Foran (p), John Parker (d), Pat Marchisella (b), plus guests Christa Powell (vl), Bernhard Hoey (via), John Babbage (as), Peter Knight (t) and Lawrence English (electronics). Rec. May 2007.

This young Brisbane-based contemporary piano trio used to be known as Misinterprotato, but just for us Brits decided to change their name to the slightly less unwieldy Trichotomy in time for the release of their UK debut. They are a very ‘now'-sounding piano trio with some close connections to Esbjorn Svensson Trio (EST) in their use of spare melodies, a Hendrix -like fuzzbox double bass, ‘prepared piano' grooves and thundering rock type crescendos. But there's also at times a firm nod in the direction of fellow countrymen The Necks' Subtly nuanced minimalism. The originals by both pianist and drummer are often episodic in form and aside from some engaging themes, one of the strengths of the recording lies in pianist Sean Foran's ability to suddenly change the soundscape without interrupting the narrative flow, one second riding on a groove, the next maybe a free-impressionistic meditation. This attests to all three's solid backgrounds in the European classical music as well as jazz. ‘Please' is a beautifully poised ballad characterised by a stark stillness that suggests the Tord Gustavsen trio, while ‘Start', with added strings, gyrates with a baroque minimalism recalling Michael Nyman's early film scored for Peter Greenaway. The trio is joined by the guest trumpeter Peter Knight with his aching Tomasz Stanko-like sound through ‘Ascent' while the grungy Bad Plus-like ‘Variations on a Bad Day' cranks things up a level. While they tend to wear their influences unashamedly on their sleeve, Trichotomy shows they are very good at transcending them too.