Gather is the eighth album of the trio of Australian, Sydney-based pianist-composer Alister Spence, which has released two more albums as the Asteroid Ekosystem quartet with guitarist Ed Kuepper, in almost thirty years of work. The trio – Spence (who is known for his collaborations with pianists Satoko Fujii, myea Melford and sax player Raymond McDonald) now adding samples to the piano, double bass player Lloyd Swanton (of The Necks), and drummer Toby Hall (who plays in Mike Nock bands) – has established its telepathic aesthetics that reflect Spence’s wll-crafted compositions and its risk-taking, open improvisations, all stress the rich and inclusive sonic spectrum of the threse musicians-improvisations.
Gather was recorded in July 2024 at Rancom St Studios in Sydney, seven years after the trio’s last album, Not Everything but Enough (Alister Spence Music, 2017). It features eight new pieces that present the trio as an unorthodox piano trio, all with enough space to breathe, blossom, and explore unpredictable courses.
The album begins with «The Gathering», which replicates the live improvisation mode of the trio, as the trio expands a tight and powerful groove, augmented by piano samples. The following solo piano improvisation, «Homeland (Introduction)», deepens the intense and urgent mode, but is contrasted by the reflective, lyrical ballad «Homeland», led by Swanton’s majestic double bass solo. «Crossed Over» uses a loose melody as a vehicle for a free jazz improvisation, with Spence, Swanton, and Hall employing their distinct improvisation strategies, but together form the organic yet complex architecture of the trio’s dynamics.
The elegiac «Beginning of the End of the Beginning» is a reflection on the passing of time, focusing on the introspective side of the trio, with Swanton’s arco bass solo, Spence’s dramatic prepared piano, and Hall’s light, resonant glockenspiel, at times bringing to mind The Necks’ minimalist aesthetics. Hall introduces «Falling From the Top of the Sky» and offers a surprising, infectious slow swinging groove. Swanton introduces and closes the following «Moment Between» and sets a spacious vibe for the trio‘s gentle, melodic improvisation. Gather ends with the ironic «Antidote for Lean Times» which sets a cyclical, rhythmic improvisation that cements the trio’s uncompromising, thoughtful, and always adventurous journey.
Eyal Hareuveni
Alister Spence (piano, samples), Lloyd Swanton (double bass), Toby Hall (drums, glockenspiel)
