Label: Intakt Records, 2021
Personnel - Kaja Draksler: piano; Petter Eldh: bass; Christian Lillinger: drums.
At once programmatic and free, the innovative trio Punkt.Vrt.Plastik is also known for having equal parts muscularity and flexibility woven into textures that prove to be tightropes to walk. Pianist Kaja Draksler (here playing two different upright pianos), bassist Petter Eldh and drummer Christian Lillinger draw their sounds from many sources, creating a melting pot of originality, groove and rhythmic fluidity that takes them to distinguished places in the European avant-garde scene.
Somit, the follow-up to their accomplished 2018 debut, starts off with “Helix GA”, a swift demonstration of the trio’s tenacity, rhythmic unpredictability and style. Here, quick-tempered propulsions alternate with calculated fragmentation topped by well-placed piano accents.
“If Asked” sluggishly crawls with a rhythmic cadence that finds encouragement in a piano figure that gradually merges with improvised ideas, eventually dissolving. As a matter of routine, there are pointillistic stresses and fractured surfaces.
Draksler’s bracing piano work on “Membran” is outstanding and comes with swirling figures as well as perfectly executed runs and parallels, all placed over a loose-limbed dance that swings when perhaps least expected. Another piece that swings hard after completion is “Natt Raum”, a motivic and playful electronic-inspired exercise, while “Ribosom” also experiences some of it before falling into other types of groove.
More rhythmic than melodic, the group ventures outside typical patterns without jeopardizing the organic synthesis and tonal balance that make their music so ear-catching. This extraordinary capability is revealed throughout. The short-lived title track, for instance, seems to gleam from the electro-jazz universe to remain in its state of trance. Conversely, Lillinger’s “Amnion” brings more jazz-inspired chordal work to the fore in addition to cross-rhythmic stimuli and occasional polyphonic lines that flirt with dissonance.
“Enbert Amok” and “Trboje” are both throbbing and riddling. The former conserves something primitive in the rhythm, being buckled down with compulsive, chromatic movements and a percussive statement mainly focused on the snare and bass drums. In return, the latter piece assembles a cerebral matrix filled with Monk’s lyrical acuteness and some of Stockhausen’s visionary possibilities.
This is clever, hard-to-resist modern creative music with high levels of detail and accuracy, confirming Punkt.Vrt.Plastik as one of the top jazz trios on the scene.
Grade A
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Helix GA ► 02 - If Asked ► 05 - Amnion