A serious elemental listen the tunes stacked with intimations of the natural world, mountains, rainbows, stone, heat, cold and silence. Sax, piano, bass drums - very much an acoustic sound where you can feel the presence and strength of all the instruments - it is the work of the Polish-Norwegian band of alto saxophonist Maciej Obara whose Three Crowns (2019) and Unloved (2017) have already unveiled the band's pedigree. The new album is stocked with Obara tunes, the compositions inspired by the landscapes of the Karkonosze region in south-west Poland where Obara's family roots are. The pianist on the new album is once again fellow Pole pianist Dominik Wania, with Norwegians Ole Morten Vågan on bass and drummer Gard Nilssen completing the quartet. Hugely rewarding. l-r: Gard Nilssen, Maciej Obara, Ole Morten Vågan, Dominik Wania. Photo: Jacek Poremba/ECM
Quite the tour de force here from one of the most understandably hyped new generation drummers on the UK scene. But there is much more than maximalist groove which there is in plenty given the subtle melodic lines that interweave also indicated by what to us up to this point was Dayes' best release, The Yussef Dayes Experience Live at Joshua Tree. Tracks in this much fuller exposure to his ideas are often brief and often rely on sheer power but it's not just Dayes in the forcefield because bassist Rocco Palladino is formidable on the hazily unpeeling 'Tioga Pass,' one of the album's big highlights. Guests include Shabaka Hutchings, Theon Cross and Tom Misch. Yussef Dayes photo: via Bandcamp