Released as part of ACT’s “young german (sic) jazz” series, this one from Vincent Meissner certainly shows what it means to be young and adventurous.
There is a classical purity in some of Meissner’s work, with some songs opening in the most delicate and reflective of ways before they explode and take the most unexpected directions. This approach is clear right from the start, where the album opens with August – a quiet theme rapidly developed with some blistering bass and drum work to take it to a different level.
The same can be said of I Wanna Dance With Somebody, where the piano sounds like it is being thrashed to within an inch of its life. The mood quietens with a really thoughtful, reflective performance of In My Life, a surprisingly deep and mature reading that shows the trio can sustain this level of quiet introspection when the mood demands it.
Across the whole of Wille, the energy and creativity often reminded me of some of the recordings by the Tingvall Trio. Meissner, a ferociously talented pianist, is ably supported by the equally gifted Zeimetz and Reichmann to make this a very strong trio. The band has been hailed by the German media as “a new hope in German jazz” – the bubbling and infectious sense of creativity surging from this release would seem to endorse that.
Discography
August; Admiral Bingo; I Wanna Dance With Somebody; Sonne; Things; The Dynamic Angularity Of Past Future Visions; In My Life; Young Folks; Da Sein – Hier Sein; Gegenstand Unserer Wahrnehmung; Die Last Der Früchte; Wille; Innig Ruhig (54.16)
Meissner (p); Josef Zeimetz (b); Henir Reichmann (d). Ludwigsburg, 21 – 22 August 2022.
ACT Records 9683-2
