Zyft (disastrous situation of a lousy feeling in Hebrew) is The Amsterdam-based, acoustic, free improvising trio of Israeli expats – violist and experimental, cross-disciplinary artist Maya Felixbrodt, bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld, known for The Full Sun, Kuhn Fu and Xavier Pamplona Ensemble, with veteran guitarist Henk Zwerver (who also did the collage on the front cover). Zyft has been working since 2016 and Triangle Moments is the sophomore album of the trio, following Midnight Tea Suite (Creative Sources, 2019), and was recorded at Splendor in Amsterdam in June 2023.

The dynamics of this trio are intense and energetic, suggesting opinionated and often provocative arguments between strong-minded friends who do not necessarily seek to resolve these tense dynamics or find an emphatic closure. The employments of extending bowing, breathing and strumming techniques intensify these sonic arguments, and in a way, symbolize how far Felixbrodt, Taubenfeld and Zwerver can go with their improvisations.

But despite these conflictual dynamics, Zyft knows how to channel and gravitate these expressive, personal dynamics into a loose form and collective discourse, often with a dramatic but unorthodox, story-like narrative. Zyft can even be emotional, in its eccentric way, as the short «Dance» piece proves, or the lyrical, playful and somehow hopeful last piece, «Breath of Fresh Air», in total contrast to the trio’s name.

Eyal Hareuveni

Maya Felixbrodt (viola), Ziv Taubenfeld (bass clarinet), Henk Zwerver (acoustic guitar)