The trio does generate some nice interaction on “Rain Streams” and “Somebody Likes Jogging,” the pensive title track and the ECM-ish “Summer Heat,” the classically flavored “Overcast” and “Sonnet for the Flowers,” but a little of this hyper-delicate stuff goes a long way.
Grass Catching The Wind continues the “seasons” theme that Eckemoff began with Cold Sun and as I mentioned, the songs on this album certainly bring images to mind that marry up with titles such as “Summer Heat,” “Anticipation Of Spring,”or “Harvest.” Style wise this album merges post-bop jazz with classical structures and Eckemoff does make a sterling job of bringing these two genres together in manner that smooth and natural. Eckemoff herself is an amazingly deft and subtle musician who paints picture with her gentle, but firm piano work and with the backing she receives from Vinding and Lund, there’s no doubting that this is a trio who are completely locked together in musical space. If this musical style and genre are where your tastes reside then I have no hesitation in telling you that you will revel in much of the music laid bare here.
The music is intelligent without being pedantic, sophisticated without being sterile, creative without being indulgent, and sensitive without being desultory. Tunes bounce, weave, collide and open up as temperatures and musical barometric pressures change.
A well balanced and focused jazz trio can create a superb ambiance. Yelena Eckemoff is using the trio format to capture the essence of seasons. Cold Sun was released last year and it reflected the bleakness of winter with icy, crystalline notes and reserved arrangements. She is exploring spring with and the compositions on Grass Catching the Wind are warmer, brighter.
Leading an impressionistic trio that leans more toward ECM than Windham Hill, this is introspective music for the neo-classical fan that knows how to recognize the real deal.
This is a piano trio, cut in Copenhagen with Mads Vinding on bass and Morten Lund on drums. All originals. Most have strong rhythm and I always like that in a pianist, along with crisp and clever.
This is no less introspective than the last recording and again is made up of originals that combine jazz with classical music but in an organic way, free of pretension. The music is imaginative.