Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Silke Eberhard Trio with Jan Roder and Kay Lübke: Being-A-Ning

Silke Eberhard Trio with Jan Roder and Kay Lübke: Being-A-Ning

By Mark Corroto
May 6, 2025
View read count

Silke Eberhard Trio with Jan Roder and Kay Lübke: Being-A-Ning

It is rare to describe an audio recording as brave, but that is precisely what the latest release by the

Silke Eberhard

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Silke Eberhard Trio is—bold, fearless, and unflinchingly original. Being-A-Ning, the group's fifth album, borrows its title from

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk's "Rhythm-A-Ning," nodding to the jazz giant while continuing the trio's thematic naming convention. Previous albums—Being (2008) and What A Beauty Being (2011) on Jazzwerkstatt, followed by The Being Inn (2017) and Being The Up And Down (2021) on Intakt—have all explored the elusive nature of 'being' through fearless improvisation and sharp compositional ideas.

Eberhard, an alto saxophonist known for her expressive tone and adventurous spirit, pens nine of the album's ten compositions. Her writing is audacious—intellectually rigorous yet emotionally resonant. She has long drawn inspiration from bold innovators, including

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus,

Eric Dolphy

woodwinds
1928 - 1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Dolphy and

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman, whose influence can be felt in the trio's spontaneous energy and structural elasticity. More contemporarily, her approach aligns with that of

Steve Lehman

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Lehman and

Steve Coleman

saxophone, alto
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Coleman—both alto players who use complex rhythmic systems and forward-looking frameworks without losing the human pulse of the music.

Take "What's In Your Bag," which unfolds like an advanced mathematical proof—dense, calculated, but deeply satisfying. "New Dance" builds on that energy with funky propulsion, while "Sao" finds drummer

Kay Lübke

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Kay Lübke leading with insistent pulse, bells and textures that push Eberhard and bassist

Jan Roder

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Jan Roder to the edges of their sonic vocabularies. Roder and Lübke are more than accompanists—they are co-conspirators, meeting Eberhard's compositional challenges with grit and precision.

Even the moments that threaten to settle—like the balladic "Golden Fish"—are filled with surprise. The trio employs start-stop phrasing and subtle deconstructions that destabilize the expected arc of a jazz ballad. The title track is a sly curveball, channeling not Monk but

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus's cool alto tone and the melodic ease of

Dave Brubeck

piano
1920 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Brubeck's quartet, all filtered through the trio's angular sensibility and rhythmic dexterity.

Being-A-Ning is a daring statement from a trio that thrives on risk, proving that adventurous jazz can still sound fresh, grounded, and fiercely alive. It's not just brave—it is essential listening.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

What's In Your Bag; Golden Fish; Sao; Hans Im Glück; New Dance; Stranger Bossa; Being-A-Ning; Lake; Die Urwald II; Rubber Boots.

Personnel

Silke Eberhard

saxophone

Jan Roder

bass

Kay Lübke

drums

Album information

Title: Being-A-Ning | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Intakt Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Time Has Changed
< Previous

Omar Thomas, Daniele di Bonaventura,...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.