This is the debut recording of American alto and soprano sax player and educator Peter Epstein with the Malmö-based rhythm section of Finnish double bass player Johnny Åman and Peter Nilsson, both have collaborated before with the Swedish guitarist Per-Oscar Nilsson (on «9 Stygn», FSNT, 2012) and the Danish pianist Søren Møller. The album was recorded in Malmö on June 2013, featuring Epstein as the main composer, with two short collective improvisations.
Epstein discography is quite scarce and this trio enables him to express his rich and warm voice and his strong sense of melodic flow. Epstein is a natural leader but this is a balanced trio, characterized by a tight and playful interplay that stresses the immediate rhythmic drive and invention of Åman and Nilsson. Both keep feeding Epstein with shifting dynamics, coloring his flow of ideas with reserved command and elegance, while being fed by his lyrical, singing tone and song-like abstraction.
There is nothing surprising in the art of this this trio. Somehow, it may sound «Painfully Simple», as suggesting the title of one of an exceptional quiet. contemplative piece. Still, all the pieces sound fresh and beautifully nuanced, specifically because of such an unassuming approach, the emphatic interplay and the wise rhythmic variations.
Eyal Hareuveni Peter Epstein (as, ss); Johnny Åman (b); Peter Nilsson (dr)
