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Recorded shortly after the band's UK tour early last year it finds the lauded trio in especially dynamic form and while their music could be compared to the likes of EST or The Bad Plus, Foran also cites his time here as an influence on the music - and not just our beer, but bands such as label mates Neil Cowley Trio, John Taylor and Acoustic Ladyland - but The Gentle War is very much the sound of a band developing their own unique sound.
The Gentle War finds the band happily building on the success of Variations but is more tightly focused on the trio itself. Mixed by Brent Sigmeth (The Bad Plus) the album brings a rockier edge to the mix but without compromising on the beauty of the piano sound. It's an aural reflection of the band's music, what one critic called their 'juxtaposition of aggresiveness and tenderness'. Indeed it is this friction which is at the heart of the band's appeal: Their music is both densely rhythmic and sharply melodic, with Foran's excellent compositions seeking a balance between heavily notated sections and completely free improvisations and with the trio allowing ideas to develop naturally.
The album opens with Chase, a short, catchy song, almost pop-like but with some surprising time signatures. Wrestle features a deceptively simple melody and harmony that the trio twist and turn, much like it is wrestling with itself. Blues For The Space, is a beautiful piece, very still, meditative and reflective, and features a superb spontaneous improvisation from the trio. Cute, written by Parker for his son is a fun portrait any parent will 'get' and the visceral Shut Up aims its angry punch at reality TV. But it is the album's gripping title track, The Gentle War, that best encapsulates what Foran and his colleagues are striving for. It moves through three distinct sections, and explores some odd time signatures, but is also a really textural piece incorporating solo parts on bass and drums and always feels organic and natural. And it this distinct approach to their music, simultaneously thunderous and hushed...harsh but reflective, that makes Trichotomy so compelling.
Produced by Trichotomy
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"Innovative and skilful - ‘The Gentle War’ will impress an audience far wider than jazz diehards."
Record Collector
'The key to the band's allure is not only the adroit way they fuse delicate filigrees of melody with taut, muscular grooves, but also how they create absorbing soundscapes contrasting moods and emotions.'
The Guardian
'dramatic, absorbingly meditative, and a distinctive take on jazz fusion.'
The Times
'a forward-thinking piano trio that beefs up its subtle rhythmic and melodic interplay with some rock energy'
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Guardian
“Trichotomy is an accomplished and contemporarily harmonious outfit.”
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The Jazz Mann
“If ‘Variations’ established Trichotomy as one of the world’s leading contemporary jazz piano trios then ‘The Gentle War’ consolidates that position…beautiful”
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Jazzwise
“this one again hits the mark”
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Yorkshire Post
“It's fresh and sometimes furious jazz that never slips into the predictable.”
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All About Jazz
“at the forefront of the newer generation of intelligent, thoughtful and inventive piano trios.”
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Financial Times
“catchy loops, misty ballads and rocky beats tread grittily on a well-signposted path”
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BBC.co.uk
“a wonderfully unpredictable album…dramatic and effective”
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LondonJazz
“Dynamic control and textural subtlety may be the trio's most obvious strengths, but the jazz-piano trio's other core values, lyricism, tunefulness and rhythmic vitality, are by no means neglected on this fine follow-up”
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Allgigs.co.uk
'The opening track and the lighter moments suggest that their upcoming UK tour may see them playing to full appreciative rooms, packed with newcomers and fans of their earlier work alike'
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Jazz Breakfast
“highly attractive piano trio jazz with all the right modern flavours, from funky, chunky timing, to pop-friendly melodic hooks… The Gentle War will definitely hit the spot”
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MOJO Magazine
“delightfully detailed ensembles, full of wit and vigour…they bamboozle with tricky time-signatures and intricate themes”
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AAA Music
'unexpectedly playful ...there is a definite rock sound here too'
Vanguard Online
'By turns playful and melodic, The Gentle War is involving. The simplicity of a trio means that, in jazz, as here, the listener can follow the interplay of the different parts as distinct ideas without it merging into one sound. There’s a mind-enhancing pleasure in following the players as they interact and a clarity of sound.'
Indielondon.co.uk
'an aural reflection of the band’s music that brings a rockier edge to the mix without compromising the beauty of their piano sound'
redhotvelvet.co.uk
'This is serious music, made by series musicians, but it is accessible, tuneful, mature and brilliantly balanced'
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Blues And Soul
“These are an Australian piano-led trio and quite remarkable. A trio playing as one, shifting through various time signatures and textures.”
Irish Times
“Startling contrasts in dynamics, unusual time signatures and great rhythmic flexibility are swept along in the flow of invention of exciting performances…a stunningly together group”
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BBC Music Magazine
"this is a genuine trio, with three equally important parts, and they never put a foot or finger wrong" 5 stars!
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Independent on Sunday
"a bright, rock-influenced sound that emphasises the equal interplay of bass and drums with Sean Foran's piano."
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