Label: Clean Feed Records, 2023
Personnel - Simone Quatrana: piano; Andrea Grossi: double bass; Pedro Melo Alves: drums.
HIIT, an innovative avant-garde jazz trio that stems from the Italian and Portuguese jazz scenes, has unveiled an interesting debut album that traverses an array of inspirations and atmospheres, ranging from frayed tension to thoughtful musing. Pianist Simone Quatrana, double bassist Andrea Grossi, and drummer Pedro Melo Alves employ a strategy of compositional frames that feed real-time composition, elevating the classic piano trio format to a gripping level.
In the embrace of experimentalism, the album kicks off with “Gliss Glass”, a piece bursting with feverish timbre and motion, simmering with boiling pressure until giving way to a series of zigzagging glissandi. The subsequent track, “Ecotone”, has whirling piano runs creating a sense of vertigo, accompanied by a cascade of kaleidoscopic drumming. Irrepressible piano cycles surge at a rapid pace, while lyrical arco bass melodies search for peace of mind, detached from the chaos surrounding them. The placid bowing wins in the end.
Formidable mosaics of improvised music get specificities in textures while paying tribute to various personalities. For instance, “Concetto Spaziale” delves into contemplative sonic mysteries, interweaving sparse bass notes, overtly brushed drums, and a dreamy piano temperament to celebrate Lucio Fontana and his synthesized art known as Spatialism. Other pieces follow suit: “Urge”, dedicated to Italian photographer Roberto Masotti, plays with tonal contrasts - light and heavy, dark and clear, assertive and carefree; “Taro” marries 20th-century classical music with avant-garde, honoring jazz pianist Giorgio Gaslini; and “The Tartar Steppe”, named after Dino Buzzati’s distinguished novel, adopts a serene posture with minimalistic classical modernism at the core.
The trio skillfully intertwines sounds with a slippery subversion in “Urbe”, where contemporary groove indulgence, reminiscent of Matthew Shipp, positions fragmented bass lines and cluster piano harmonizations atop a hypnotic rhythmic spell. Similar results are achieved with the utterly propulsive “Clichés”, whose deliberately reiterated ideas emulate electronic alienation.
Imbued with a spirit of sophisticated discovery, this recording is more than mere speculation. It’s a solid musical statement from an explorative trio that operates efficiently.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Ecotone ► 05 - Urbe ► 08 - The Tartar Steppe