Jackson Harrison Trio - Sintering (Hatology 723)

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

Following on from the critical acclaim received here, in Europe and the USA of his first album, Land Tides, National Jazz Award winner and Sydney based pianist /composer Jackson Harrison has released a lyrical album of original compositions named after the process of coalescing a powder into a solid by heating it without liquefaction. There’s nothing powdery about Jackson’s compositional skills and pianism on this recording rather a strength and cohesion standing out as the backbone with the linking of composed pieces and collective improvisations. There are some electrifyingly high energy moments where the album becomes delightfully effervescent like on the track Preludial and on others, Charcoal Choral, River Dolphin and Day For Night, where the music is deceptively simple and out of this charming, relaxed atmosphere Harrison emerges with a lyrical soliloquy that’s complex, melodic and fluid. The sophisticated three-way conversation of Harrison’s Trio is mesmerising. Ben Waples’ bass work, both Arco and Pizzicato, is outstanding as is his percussionist brother James’s subtle touch guiding the group through its more involved passages. This is one piano trio that effortlessly establishes a signature sound by virtue of the very strong musical personalities involved

Barry O’Sullivan