Bassist Arild Andersen assembled this close-knit trio in which he joins a fellow veteran, drummer John Marshall, and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, a young pianist who's distinguished himself in the classical field. It's a remarka... more »ble jazz debut for the Greek pianist, whose playing reveals none of the stiffness or empty technical display that often appears when classical players turn to improvisation. He belongs to a distinctly European stream of pianists initially influenced by Bill Evans, but which has developed an identity of its own. For sheer beauty of sonority and effective use of single notes, he can even invoke comparison with another Mediterranean pianist, the brilliant Enrico Pieranunzi. Tsabropoulos can recast the simplest elements in surprising combinations, and he works closely with Andersen and Marshall in creating gradual tension curves. There's delicacy in the way he uses dissonance to expand "Fable," and thoughtful control in the unfolding, Scriabin-like lyricism of "Monologue." Andersen's dark, grainy bass sound and penetrating lines are stimulus and complement to the liquid piano, and Marshall does a superb job of coloring and energizing the floating slow and medium tempos that the group favors. At their subtle best, the trio's blending of light and dark hues can suggest the almost secret beauty of night-blooming flowers. --Stuart Broomer« less
Bassist Arild Andersen assembled this close-knit trio in which he joins a fellow veteran, drummer John Marshall, and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, a young pianist who's distinguished himself in the classical field. It's a remarkable jazz debut for the Greek pianist, whose playing reveals none of the stiffness or empty technical display that often appears when classical players turn to improvisation. He belongs to a distinctly European stream of pianists initially influenced by Bill Evans, but which has developed an identity of its own. For sheer beauty of sonority and effective use of single notes, he can even invoke comparison with another Mediterranean pianist, the brilliant Enrico Pieranunzi. Tsabropoulos can recast the simplest elements in surprising combinations, and he works closely with Andersen and Marshall in creating gradual tension curves. There's delicacy in the way he uses dissonance to expand "Fable," and thoughtful control in the unfolding, Scriabin-like lyricism of "Monologue." Andersen's dark, grainy bass sound and penetrating lines are stimulus and complement to the liquid piano, and Marshall does a superb job of coloring and energizing the floating slow and medium tempos that the group favors. At their subtle best, the trio's blending of light and dark hues can suggest the almost secret beauty of night-blooming flowers. --Stuart Broomer
CD Reviews
Magical
Christopher King | Palo Alto, CA United States | 07/27/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I absolutely agree with the above reviewers' opinions of this CD. Too often classically-trained pianists playing jazz fall into the trap of displaying their technique and forgetting the music (we'll leave names out of this). This never happens here. Vassilis Tsabropoulos, with an international reputation as a classical pianist, is a musician first. The interplay between these wonderful musicians (Arild Anderson on double-base and John Marshall on drums) is intimate and the music they create is magical. As always the ECM engineering is awsome. Despite this being abstract jazz, the compositions are full of melody, rythm and poetic phrases. It never deteriorates, as too often happens (say as in the recent Paul Bley trio CD Not two, not one) into random noise where the musicians are clearly no longer listening to each other. If you like any of the Peter Erskine trio's wonderful CDs (You Never Know, Time Being, As It Is or Juni) or most of Keith Jarrett trio's CDs, then you are sure to love this. This CD definitely deserves a wider audience and I look forward to many mote from this trio."
Wonderful Music from Tsabropoulos
David Watts | Houston, TX | 11/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Oh my, if only all CD's sounded like this. I've been on an ECM bender lately purchasing the recordings of Peter Erskine ("As It IS", "You Never Know", "Juni") and Bobo Stenson (Reflections.)This CD fits in right among them in many ways. First they're all Piano, Bass and Drums. But that's purely a surface feature. What's really interesting is buying one CD of each and listening to them back to back to hear the different blends of Pianists, Bassists and Drummers. Of course they all luxuriate in the ECM "sound" - which is meticulous and contains both the heart and soul of each note.This CD offers up some wonderul interplay and growth. Take the title track - Achirana. The simplest of melodies is played on the piano, and Tsabropoulos stays there, waiting - challenging - the others to come up with something to fill the space. John Marshal (Drums) comes in first, testily touching the waters, followed hesitantly by Andersen on Bass. Before long a mix of sounds comes from the speakers and all three are eloquently flowing along in unison. Wonderful stuff.Skip forward to track seven: "Fable" and you have a swinging high-energy workout. Turn up the volume on this one and feel the weight of Andersen's bass in the room. Tracks like "Valley" start off a little weak, but it isn't long before Andersen and Marshall push Tsabpoulos into new directions and bring the CD back in line - it's the only weak moment.It's been an interesting few weeks with these CD's. They illustrate just how much variation there is in the ECM catalogue and sound - despite apparently similar material and tones. John Taylor (from the Erskine discs), Bob Stenson and Vassilis Tsabropoulos all are working the same areas. But they're not the same, and their approaches are fully explored and beautifully recorded on their respective discs.Bravo Manfred Eicher! Bravo ECM! And Bravo to all the musicians and technicians who bring this music to life, and then distribute it to the shores of the US for people like me to enjoy. This really is a six-star effort."
A new jazz pianist on the horizon
K. Slotkowski | West Bloomfield, MI USA | 08/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I purchased this recording knowing of Arild Andersen's works and this is his best since 'Green Shading Into Blue' ECM 1127 1978. Of course accompaniment is different but Arild's bass playing is similar in this regard, the same soulfulness, force and tonality. Vassilis Tsabropoulis' piano playing is reminiscent of Bill Evans introspective years, he plays with the same feeling and chops, very impressive. If you like Bill Evans, Brad Mehldau or John Taylor you will definitely like 'Achirana'. This group is certainly got it together. I hope we will hear more from this group in the future."
Amazing
T. Hardjono | Winchester (MA) and Palo Alto (CA) | 02/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Vassilis Tsabropoulos is *amazing* on Achirana. I have been listening and collecting Jazz records and CDs for over 25 years now (since grade 7 at school). I'm a great fan of Bill Evans, and have almost all of his recordings. I'm also one of those "bored" Jazz fans that Down Beat wrote about a couple of years ago (ie. nothing exciting emerging from the North American Jazz scene). I stumbled on Achirana at a Tower Records display last year, never hearing of the name Vassilis Tsabropoulos before. This trio is amazing, fresh and spontaneous. Great to see ECM still being at the forefront of discovering new artists."
Soul and Finesse
Kelly Brennan | 02/01/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This disc is pure magic. It takes you on a journey and leaves you with a sense of wonder and awe. This music is not about technical prowess, it's about inspiration "the spaces between the notes". John Marshall plays with a sensitivity and restraint that leaves you breathless at his artistry. And the pianist well... he's a magician, a sorcerer. If you want to expand your mind way beyond the obviousness and complacency of most of todays musicians, this disc will have you celebrating the courage of these musicians to take you there."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1