Andreas Bral is a Belgian pianist and composer, known for the trio Ocean Eddie (which collaborated with Sofia Jernberg and Martin Küchen on its last albums) and in fellow Belgian sax player Hanne de Backer’s gabbro trio.
Also North is Bral’s first classic piano trio album, featuring fellow Belgian double bass player Nathan Wouters, and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert. The album was recorded at Studio La Conserve in Brussels in December 2022. Bral describes the album as «mostly free and arguably avoidable trio complications that embrace cerebral intuition, providing shelter for rope-skipping enthusiasts and robotica devotees alike».
There is indeed an openness and a relaxed and unassuming approach to Bral’s sketchy compositions, and he notes that his compositions “are bendable and promote drifting off in any direction, also north”. The trio’s dynamics are non-hierarchical and respectful. The trio is at its best as the session progresses, particularly when it ventures far outside the comfort zone of the piano trio format, on pieces like «Spirit Plumbing» and «Mountains on a Postcard».
Eyal Hareuveni
Andreas Bral (piano), Nathan Wouters (double bass,Onno Govaert (drums)
