Music styles such as techno, hip hop and drum & bass have significantly influenced the rhythms, timbres and sounds of our (musical) environment. The German Trio Elf refers to these club sounds by incorporating them into the concept of an acoustic piano trio. Drummer Gerwin Eisenhauer provides an acoustic and human version of the digital breakbeats and jungle rhythms. Together with double bassist
… Sven Faller, he creates a solid (dance) basis on which pianist Walter Lang can improvise in an impressionistic way à la Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau. In terms of style, Trio Elf falls somewhere between the rock approach of a piano trio by Esbjörn Svensson, the atmosphere and blues of Tord Gustavsen and the minimalist 'zen-funk' of Nik Bärtsch Ronin. In short: beautiful groovy acoustic piano jazz with a modern touch. 746 is Trio Elf's second CD. While on the previous album they provided jazz standards like Take Five and Four with a drum & bass jacket, they now tackle Kraftwerk's Man Machine, the Italopop hit Azzuro and a Brahms composition. With its original approach, Trio Elf has a good chance to fill the void that arose in June 2008 after the tragic death of pianist Esbjörn Svensson. (HB)more