The fourth album of Argentinian pianist-educator Eduardo Elia was recorded in one session, as its title suggests, «Figuras de un solo trazo» (Figures in a single stroke). This title references jazz composition-improvisation sensibility with freehand drawings – art that is charged with an urgent, immediate need to express itself, with no second attempts, no turning back but also with no attachment. First act or sound may be the last one.

The Córdoba-based Elia, who studied in Berklee College of Music in Boston, composed ten pieces for a trio that feature double bass player Cristian Andrada (who recorded with him the album «We See» for the same label in 2012) and drummer Luciano Ruggieri. All pieces stress a strong sense of open improvisation and a close, supporting interplay and highlight Elia mature and original voice as a composer and as an improviser, who is well-versed in jazz legacy but is not bound by it.

The poetic titles of Elia compositions often refer to a constant sense of flow and the transient nature of any musical act. These compositions sketch brief, rhythmic motives that are the basis of the trio collaborative work. Andrada and Ruggieri form an inventive rhythm section. Both never opt for an obvious, walking pulse, but manage to color any of Elia ideas in a challenging, surprising manner, solidifying his melodic flow but also building arresting manners of tension.

The highlights of this impressive album are the moving, gentle ballad «Lo que dura un instante», where the melodic motive of Elia is reflected in a nuanced work of Andrada and Ruggieri; the evocative, story-like development of «Irreversible», with its twists in the leisured plot and the 10-minutes of «Todos en uno/cuarenta momentos», that emphasizes the trio open and immediate improvising interplay.

Eyal Hareuveni

Eduardo Elia (p); Cristian Andrada (b); Luciano Ruggieri (dr)