The somewhat cryptic album title of this debut by pianist Phil Merriman’s new trio describes the ways in which the sum of an artist’s lived experience imperceptibly shapes the creative process. Merriman’s own root structures run deep. A classically trained pianist who graduated from the University of York in 2006, Merriman also studied improvisation with the late John Taylor. He cites the dark harmonies of Messiaen and the folkish melodies of Bartók as key influences on his writing, and although Taylor’s influence is worn relatively lightly, the music very much occupies a space at the sharp end of contemporary European jazz.
Joined by rising star John Williamson on bass and fellow York alumni Simon Roth on drums, Merriman recorded at a remote studio on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors in September 2023. The very naturalistic production comes courtesy of another of Merriman’s York connections, Raph Clarkson (WorldService Project), and save for a radically deconstructed version of Rodgers & Hart’s My Romance, where the impressive Williamson is the creative fulcrum, all of the pieces are Merriman originals.
The music switches easily between introspection and extroversion, and something of Taylor’s peerless lyricism can be heard on both the brooding opener and the tricky rhythmic shifts of the title track. Reliance is built on a simple drone, and on Now And Not Yet a short insistent riff is cleverly stretched and modified. Letters and Waves suggest the abstract romanticism of Paul Bley, while the childlike moves of Shoulder Ride and Rest follow an altogether more extrovert path. The final Strength In Weakness carries echoes of the meditative masterworks of Alice Coltrane, offering a suitably healing finale to an album of great promise.
Discography
First One Back; Reliance; The Roots Beneath; Rest; Now And Not Yet; Letters; Waves; My Romance; Parallel Spirits; Shoulder Ride; Strength In Weakness (45.54)
Merriman (p) with John Williamson (b); Simon Roth (d). Ayriel Studio, North Yorkshire, September 2023.
philmerrimantrio.bandcamp.com
