Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Colin Vallon Trio: Rruga

Colin Vallon Trio: Rruga

By Dan McClenaghan
June 7, 2011
View read count

The piano trio—piano, bass and drums—can seem something of an anachronism in a time when musical artists make use of synthesizers, electronics, laptops and loops to craft their sounds. But scores of pianists still go to the acoustic trio format as one of their primary means of expression. In looking toward jazz veterans,

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett and

Ahmad Jamal

piano
1930 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Ahmad Jamal come to mind. With a newer group of artists, it's possible to point to

Bill Carrothers

piano
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Carrothers,

Brad Mehldau

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Mehldau,

Greg Reitan

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Greg Reitan, and so many more.

Colin Vallon, born in 1980, is one of the newer generation of piano trio artists, rising to higher visibility via his ECM debut, Rruga. With his trio mates—bassist

Patrice Moret

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Patrice Moret and drummer

Samuel Rohrer

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Samuel Rohrer—the Swiss pianist has crafted a CD's worth of music that features a continuity of mood and atmosphere, in keeping with the ECM aesthetic, that has much in common with the label's more established piano trio artists, including

Tord Gustavsen

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Tord Gustavsen and

Marcin Wasilewski

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcin Wasilewski: a patience in the unfolding of the tunes; an oft-times dreamy, pastoral mood; European folk music tints; a give-and-take equilibrium instrumentally; and also, with this trio, a sharing of compositional input.

Opening with Moret's "Telepathy," a feeling of whispered secrets pervades with gentle yet insistent repetitive phrases, spoken over a backdrop of a subtle rhythm that gathers momentum and intensity while still remaining steadfast and contained. The Vallon-penned title tune is less chant-like—prettier, and more melodically distinctive. It has a break-of-day mood as it brightens, then shifts into a twilight groove near its end, with Vallon caressing the piano keys with the lightest touch, while Roher's "Polygonia" has a spare, midnight mood, a music for things unseen but somehow sensed in the dark.

Vallon's "Eyjafjallajokull" is an ode to Iceland's 2010 volcanic event, an eerie, subterranean soundscape full of brooding peril that seems at times—though it is acoustic, with a deep rumble then a shrill and oddly metallic whine of Moret's bass—like an electronically-sculpted sound.

Rruga is an exceptional ECM debut from the Colin Vallon Trio, a piano trio with a timeless sound.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Telepathy; Rruga; Home; Polygonia; Eyjafjallajokull; Merel; Iskar; Noreia; Ruga, var.; Fjord; Epilog.

Personnel

Colin Vallon

piano

Colin Vallon: piano; Patrice Moret: double-bass; Samuel Roher: drums.

Album information

Title: Rruga | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: ECM Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Fire Sink
< Previous

White Sickness
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.