BENEDIKT JAHNEL TRIO, "THE INVARIANT" (CD)

Benedikt Jahnel Trio, "The Invariant" - CD izdevums, ECM Records.

The trio with Spanish bassist Antonio Miguel and Canadian drummer Owen Howard has been an “invariant” in the life of Berlin based pianist Benedikt Jahnel.

Hence the album title: The Invariant is issued as the group goes on tour to celebrate its tenth anniversary as a working unit. Opening track “Further Consequences” picks up where the critically-lauded Equilibrium left off, extending ideas about pianistic patterning and textural playing. Like many of Jahnel’s tunes an odd-metred piece, it also contains elements of swing in its solo sections, as the pianist reacts to the implications of Owen Howard’s drumming.

A distinctive and original pianist, Jahnel is also a prolific writer and The Invariant pools the best of many pieces he has composed, road-tested and revised in the last five years, incorporating the dynamic responses of his trio partners into the fabric of the musical material.