London Concert

The concert of the Stefan Aeby Trio at the Intakt Festival at Vortex Jazz Club in London 2017 was a highlight of live music in the capital that year. It made an emphatic statement on how improvisation transcends borders and underlined the strength of a new generation of players. London journalist Kevin Le Genre writes: Aeby drummer Michi Stulz and double bassist André Pousaz make for an inherently contemporary proposition insofar as they are by no means restricted to the standard tropes of the piano trio. This is a group comprising three instruments and three open minds. Hence the performance sees the players organically shift the ensemble towards many stylistic areas, whether it is a suggestion of wistful ambient soundscapes, breezy, percussive African folk, or modern pop that retains the blues to varying degrees. The music is multi-faceted. Throughout the concert there is a palpable sense of breathing space as well as controlled intensity. A quiet fire. The lasting impression of this concert is precisely the cohesion and dynamics of the trio, with it's skillful straddling of natural and digital tones, and it's deft negotiation of sounds past, present and future.