Absence

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This delightful ECM debut from Estonian pianist Kristjan Randalu sees him joined by American guitarist Ben Monder, with whom he recorded 2012's Equilibrium, and Finnish drummer Markku Ounaskari, an ECM veteran. Randalu's is a very modern, northern European jazz sensibility informed at least as much by contemporary classical composition as by any jazz piano greats; this is restrained, subtle, impressionistic music. "Forecast" begins with a painterly wash of ruminative solo piano before bursting into a torrent of tumbling runs like the rush of a river, the piano mirrored by plangent notes on the guitar and matched by busy, flickering drum patterns. Slowing down in the middle as the guitar takes a smooth solo, it sees the piano rejoin for an improvisatory section before the rippling head returns to close. The slow "Lumi I" sounds at least partly freely improvised; faintly dissonant, Schoenbergian piano motifs are joined by ambient guitar wash, leading to a middle section of tightly controlled chaos before another tumbling run of notes. The lovely "Sisu" has a faintly folky sound, composed of a series of cyclical patterns with a gently loping gait. "Adaption I" starts with a thunderhead of almost industrial guitar before clattering drums part the clouds and light breaks through in tinkling piano figures. On "Adaption II," another tumbling piano run, mirrored by the guitar, is buoyed up by an airy wash of cymbals, rising to a powerful crescendo; its restlessness evokes an endlessly seeking traveler. "Partly Clouded" has another cyclical pattern, with dissonant, staccato interjections on the piano, an off-kilter solo, and a faintly Latinate middle section. The languid closing title track's beautiful, sparse melody and smooth guitar solo make it one of the album's pieces that's closest to straight-ahead "jazz." There's a current of something that runs through the album, not melancholy, exactly, but maybe wistfulness, many of the tracks evoking a watery northern European light. Much of the music is quite abstract and free, with Monder's patented ambient guitar to the fore. Ounaskari has spoken of his efforts to find a "more horizontal way to play" and this is evident here; never flashy, he primarily provides texture rather than straight-ahead rhythm, though he can also furnish that when required. This is very much an ECM album, remaining strongly within the label's aesthetic, and, like many of its releases, is not particularly immediate. With the exception of a few tracks, it takes a few listens to get into, but richly rewards repeat spins.

© John D. Buchanan /TiVo