April 24, 2010

Schmidt/Rohrer/Heberer

Pieces for a Husky Puzzle
Jazz Werkstatt JW 074

Niklas Barnö, Joel Grip, Didier Lasserre

Snus

Ayler Records aylCD-088

Using the expressive properties of a trumpet as a lead instrument with only rhythmic and chordal accompaniment is a challenging task for any brass player Yet as these CDs prove, two Northern European trumpeters have done just that with noteworthy results.

More impressionistic of the two, Pieces for a Husky Puzzle, finds Schleswig, Germany-born Thomas Heberer using a quarter-tone trumpet to blend with the low-key cadences of pianist Andreas Schmidt from Berlin – who additionally composed the seven inter-related tracks here – and the understated rattles and scrapes of Swiss-born, Berlin-based drummer Samuel Rohrer. MORE