Perpetual Void

Album review

Fighting insomnia, anxiety and what she calls "the competing clocks of ambition and biology," jazz pianist Marta Sanchez used adversity to spur creativity on her first trio album. Despite a title that implies emptiness, the Brooklyn-based Sanchez refuses to be downbeat, opting for more upbeat post-bop wanderings. She turns angst into energetic romps like "Black Cyclone," where she constructs and deconstructs, scampering contrapuntally, pecking out notes up and down the keyboard before settling into a steady groove. Active and inventive, drummer Savannah Harris is an irrepressible polyphonic partner. Even in a slower exploration like "The Absence of the People You Long For," she refuses to openly grieve. As bassist Chris Tordini embarks on a funky bass divergence, Harris continues to play a dissonant, unpredictable melody.

While a palpable sense that something is missing in the heart is found throughout many of these originals, Sanchez is also committed to finding out what's on the other side of this pain. Headed by "The End of The Period"—in which she displays virtuosic command, deliberately ranging up and down the keyboards and sweeping across various melodic moments—she seems ready for what comes next.  Perpetual Void, which has a crisp, emphatic sound profile, was produced by Sanchez and recorded by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio in Mount Vernon, New York. In the complex, undulating "I Don't Want to Live the Wrong Life and Die," she portrays her emotional turmoil as the tune's guiding rhythms. Even in the 11/8 rhythms of the viscerally titled "The Love Unable to Give," which seems devoted to defining her struggles, she clearly yearns for healing. But with a triumphant entry into trio recordings, this is an artist in no danger of defeat. © Robert Baird/Qobuz