It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life.
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts
And crave happiness Eyolf Dale’s trio pursues as the light fades at the remains of the day.
Playing tunes of the pianist’s, When Shadows Dance is a fairly absorbing piano trio recording made in an Oslo concert hall.
There is no audience sound at all so I guess that they used the hall as a sort of studio location space benefitting from the sonics of the place which are like a fourth member.
This latest issued by England based jazz label Edition shares the same personnel and general approach as The Wayfarers issued in 2023. So once again it’s double bassist Per Zanussi and drummer Audun Kleive who join their fellow Norwegian, Dale.
The trio also worked together on Being released when we all were still in the throes of the Lockdown era.
Given that this latest has clear antecedents and a successfully laid down template this then is the next chapter in the same story rather than a new story with a brand new plot or unfamiliar characters.
So if you have already bought into what these accomplished players do then this will just deepen your listening experience.
As a general rule I think that the longer a band stays together the better it becomes even if there are setbacks along the way.
Chopping and changing personnel or trying to replace an inspirational member with someone who may be just as good a player is OK. But the magic of what came before cannot be even quantified. Or, indeed, over estimated.
Dale’s back story includes collaborations with his fellow countryman tuba player Daniel Herskedal so ravishingly on Slow Eastbound Train a decade ago. He has also worked in a duo with reedist André Roligheten.
Naturalistic, dreamy, a touch of the baroque emerges on ‘Patterns in the Sky’. It’s the sterner side of the pianist’s style. But elsewhere he is keen on developing euphonious motifs and allowing the bass “to sing” in the space in between. The drummer’s role is gentle apart from on ‘Flickering Lights’ – this isn’t a 3-for-all by any stretch of the imagination. But just because it’s quiet and understated doesn’t mean it is lacking in impact.
But it’s taken me a while to really like what Dale does and of all of the albums mentioned above with this trio I think this is the most convincing. Pick for me are the crisp rhythmic method developed on ‘Driving Through, Passing By’ and the way Zanussi grounds the opening to ‘The Clown After Dark’. Also appealing is the pretty melody of ‘Garden Waltz’. Dale says: “I composed this waltz in my home studio, and at that very moment, a deer wandered into my garden, gracefully nibbling on the bushes. And just like that, the title revealed itself.”
Accusing the trio of not being loud or dramatic enough misses the point – that’s part of this trio’s style.
While there are no obvious links to Bill Evans certainly the great Kind of Blue pianist’s inspiration sprang to mind as one of this thoughtful album’s chief guardian angels.
