COMPOSERS: Maze
LABELS: Naim
ALBUM TITLE: Trio VD Maze
WORKS: Maze
PERFORMER: Chris Bussey (drums), Chris Sharkey (guitar), Christophe de Bézenac (sax)
CATALOGUE NO: NAIMCD174
The band name trioVD may stand for ‘Valentine’s Day’, but don’t expect a soundtrack to a romantic night in. The trio’s first disc Fill it Up with Ghosts splattered the jazz world with blasts of thunderous musical bombardment, leaving listeners both shell-shocked and exhilarated. And moving beyond the rock leanings of jazz bands such as Acoustic Ladyland or Get The Blessing, this Leeds-based trio’s new disc continues to raise the jazz bar, by borrowing from the high-speed delivery of heavy metal. This is demonstrated by the aggressive vocals and drum breaks in opener ‘Brick’.
What is striking is the scale of the trio’s inventiveness. Bézenac’s eerie solo on ‘Ducks’ becomes pursued by a lurching shapeless percussive menace, while on ‘Pet Shop Boys’, the trio mimics complex dance beats before Sharkey injects some Bill Frisell-style serenity. They are certainly not to everyone’s taste but trioVD remain an improvisational jazz force to be reckoned with.
Neil McKim