For many the jazz piano trio is an edifice that shouldn’t be tampered with, the classic enactment of pure jazz, a rhythm section suddenly given license to express itself but with a heritage that binds them together. So any messing with the tradition needs to be done well, with a purpose and conviction. Plucking at names of more recent three pieces that have ridden that challenge and brought us to new perspectives, you would possibly go for the dramatic post rock extensions of the Neil Cowley Trio or Go Go Penguin’s dance influenced dynamism.
Well maybe there is another contender about to take a further stride through the doors of this contemporary piano jazz arena. As a unit Emily Francis Trio have been dipping in and out of the spotlight for some time now in between their other musical projects. Their debut ‘The Absent’ in 2015 introduced a group with a focus on tight economic tunes and deftly mixed grooves, all inspired by Francis’s resounding, confident keys. So far so very good, but then a couple of years ago came the full throttle prog-jazz extravaganza of ‘Luma’. Often synth driven and surprisingly spacey, the release saw Emily Francis Trio forging ahead into different, more open territories.
Now, with news of an upcoming EP ‘Atomic’, we’ll soon know the destination of their more recent explorations. Preview track ‘After The Rain’ (streaming now in all the usual places) hints at Emily Francis Trio bringing their own take on what progressive can mean. The Jean Michel Jarre/crisp classical chamber trills of the Rhodes, the rising fizz of the Jamie Murray and Trevor Boxall drum n’ bass and then the lift off via some meteoric Francis synth, here’s a tune that follows a filmic arc without losing the plot. Set your sights on more instalments…
‘After The Rain’ by Emily Francis Trio is also streaming on SPOTIFY
