Label: Klangraum Records, 2026
Personnel - Fernando Brox: flute; Edu Cabello: alto saxophone, bass clarinet; Victor Carrascosa: trumpet, flugelhorn; David Muñoz: double bass; Maximilian Hering: drums + Guest - Lucia Fumero: piano (#1,4).
For his sophomore album, The Gathering, German drummer and composer Maximilian Hering expands the chordless quartet he formed in 2018 in Barcelona with musicians from the local jazz scene by adding flutist Fernando Brox. Spanish pianist Lucia Fumero also joins on two tracks, while trumpeter Victor Carrascosa replaces Félix Rossy in a lineup that brings back alto saxophonist Edu Cabello and double bassist David Muñoz. Of the album’s nine tracks, five were composed by Hering, two by Muñoz, and one each by Cabello and Brox, allowing for a healthy compositional variety among players who clearly trust and understand one another.
Hering’s “Moles On Her Skin” exudes a candid bossa groove, marked by resonant rhythmic accents and a theme that explores facets of love and connection. Brox and Cabello share a conjoint solo built on conversational call-and-response exchanges, their phrasing alive with melodic clarity. Fumero’s piano also comes to the fore here and on the softly brushed ballad “519 km is too far for kissing you”, where she deepens the harmonic perspective with sensitivity and poise. The theme of love continues on “Entre Tu y Yo”, a piece that draws the listener in and establishes a space of calm through its emphatic Latin feel and triple-meter pulse. Intimate and dusky, this Muñoz composition highlights the bass clarinet within a warmly immersive atmosphere.
Cabello’s “Ojo De Madera” opens with Hering’s weighty tom work and selective cymbal use, gradually unfolding into a rhythmically etched cadence shaped by distinct unison passages. The ensuing urgency and animated motion incorporate swift lines and splashing cymbals in an avant-garde-leaning extemporization. This energy flows naturally into “The Gat-hering”, a mercurial blues in six where the soloists fully inhabit the music’s sense of openness and freedom.
The closing “Summer in PT” is another blues, delivered with deep-pocket time and subtle shifts in the rhythmic foundation that better serve the trio of frontline improvisers. By contrast, Hering’s “Route A66”, driven by a lively temperament and a funky undercurrent, features assertive bass motion that, together with the drums, establishes a pulsating center of gravity, setting the stage for Cabello’s searing alto solo. Throughout the album, the sense of collective integration is strong, underscoring the cohesion and shared vision of this ensemble.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Moles On Her Skin ► 02 - Ojo de Madera ► 06 - Route A66