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01.03.2006 / Gazeta
DEMIERRE-GUY-NIGGLI
An excellent debut and a must for any fan of new music.
I don't know who's behind this project but I think it's a good sign of democratic procedures when the names of the players are listed in alphabetical order. The all-Swiss trio [Barry Guy makes his full time home in Switzerland now] has been performing live for the last five years. In fact, "Brainforest" marks their recording debut as a band.
Made up of pianist Jacques Demierre, bassist Barry Guy and
percussionist Lucas Niggli, the players somehow manage to reconcile
jazz, improvised music with a heavy dose of new music thrown in for
good measure. Demierre is never diminutive with his chosen instrument.
In fact, whenever he strikes a key, it's with full power, agility and
determination that this is the exact note he intended to play. Even
when striking thick clusters as he does on "Giardino Calante", he
maintains an air of assurance about his craft. Half-way through the
18-minute "Whalebalance", Demierre begins to rattle the piano with a
dazzling display of thick and chunky clusters. Niggli accompanies him,
mostly on cymbals, but later on he pounds his drum set into the ground.
It's almost as if these two had some sort of a competition as to who
could outplay the other. Niggli is never less than fascinating to hear.
His sense of timing, rhythm and overall innovation keeps the band tied
as one unit. Finally, Barry Guy is bright and full of energetic
pizzazz. When he gently caresses his bass with the bow [check out "La
Fuente de la Juventud"], the others simply allow him space and time to
play out his ideas to their fullest. Nowhere in fact do the three
players step on each other's toes. Everyone shows a great sense of
respect, so much so, that the work of this particular trio reminds me
somewhat of another famous trio - Graewe / Reijseger / Hemingway - who
also exude confidence, agility and grace. An excellent debut and a must
for any fan of new music.
Tom Sekowski, Gazeta, Poland, Marzec 2006
Tom Sekowski