Alister Spence Trio
Mercury
(Rufus/Universal)
Rating: ****
The third, all-original CD from Sydney pianist Alister Spence’s trio follows their successful 2006 UK and Canadian tour. The standard piano trio with bassist, Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Toby Hall, adds occasional use of an unusual instrument: the glockenspiel, a higher pitched cousin of the xylophone with a bell-like sound.
The album ranges over moods and tempos, from ethereal to hard swinging passages, always retaining the trio’s tight integration.
The music is esoteric, but avoids potential overloads of mysticism by cleverly altering dynamics and tempos. Mercury Intro is a two minute out-of-tempo track using sampled glockenspiel, leading into Mercury proper with a repeated rhythmic figure at the piano’s bass end in unison with the glockenspiel several octaves higher. Bass and drums arrive bringing a heavy beat for a piano solo, then piano and bass break off into a semi-classical theme with the glockenspiel chiming in counterpoint, before a swinging conclusion. Sixteen is a lovely ballad featuring a repeated melody line over increasingly luscious harmonies. These are engaging compositions in a well planned, expertly played album.
This review first appeared in The Weekend Australian and is reprinted with the kind permission of the author.
