Oehlers, Grabowsky and Beck
Lost And Found
(Jazzhead)
Rating: ****1/2
This album is unusual in several ways. A bass-less trio of piano (Paul Grabowsky), tenor sax (Jamie Oehlers) and drums (Dave Beck) is an uncommon instrumentation; the all-original music has a free, unstructured approach, and these three performers are at the very top of the list of Australian jazz luminaries.
The disc opens with four tracks of Evolution, embarking on a spontaneous and unpredictable journey as it
moves through varying auras: pastoral, melancholic, crescendoed, joyful and introspective, ending with an almost classical solo piano.
Some of the music is rhythmic with wonderful interplay, especially between drums and piano where drums sometimes take on a melodic role, and elsewhere we are floating in tempo-less territory.
The trio’s integration is extraordinary, approaching a state of shared neurons. Oehlers’ tenor sax rockets, ruminates, and reactivates. Grabowsky’s comprehensive piano is supremely supportive and inventive, while drums arrive and depart with perfect placing and phrasing.
A superb example of contemporary, advanced Australian jazz.
————————————
This review first appeared in The Weekend Australian and is republished with permission.
