Benjamin Lackner – Spindrift
Back in October 2022, German-American pianist Benjamin Lackner released his debut for the ECM label called “Last Decade”. It immediately summed up the typical ECM sound, if something like this exists after all. Lots of space, clarity, intimacy, and of course highest production values. Trumpeter Mathias Eick was on that particular record and he is there again on the new album “Spindrift” which just came out last week. Mathias works in tandem with saxophonist Mark Turner this time around. And it is not really a leader-oriented piano album, but rather, trumpet and sax are set center stage most of the time and the whole set is clearly more like a group effort. But the spaciousness is there from the start, restraint where you don’t expect it, like on the opening title track and the follow-up “Mosquito Flats”. On the latter, there is a longer piano stretch where you can actually hear Benjamin in a somewhat insouciant manner.
But that particular mood is more of an exception here. The atmosphere gets darker on “More Mesa”, with sombre playing by bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Matthieu Chazarenc both enhancing the leader’s melancholic figurations. And that’s the beauty of this record: even though it seems that most of the pieces here belong to an elegiac or plaintive style, there is always this sense of awakening, of departure. The only non-Lackner piece comes from his drummer Matthieu Chazarenc. It shifts from something like a flourish to something very lyrical in the course of three minutes. One of the most beautiful, almost haunting tracks here is the wonderful “See You Again My Friend” which boasts a gorgeous melody. I really like the way how Linda just adds some little pads and accents here and there.
Mathias’ sound and embouchure is clearly fascinating throughout, especially on “Murnau”. He has his own ECM album “Lullaby” coming up next month. The somber mood continues on “Fair Warning” where Mark can be heard on a slightly more trippy path, exchanging impulses with Mathias on a piece which moves on serpentine trails. And then again, “Anacapa” is more hymn-like with free-flowing excursions. “I seek solace in music and the process of composing is a form of meditation for me”, he says about the album. And this meditation actually crosses over to the listener too. Those meditative moments continue with the last two tracks on the album: the rueful “Ahwahnee” and the healing “Out Of The Fog”.
Benjamin is currently on tour with his new album and the brilliant Polish saxophonist Maciej Obara stands in for Mark Turner with all other musicians on the album accompanying them on stage:
1/21 Dudelange – Opderschmelz
1/23 Wittlich – Jazzclub Wittlich
1/24 Monheim am Rhein – Monheimer Kulturwerke
1/25 Berlin – Zig Zag
1/26 Hameln – Doubletime Jazz & Kultur Club