Olga Reznichenko Trio - Somnambule (2022) [Hi-Res]

Fans of Nikki Iles step this way even if you have never heard of Russian Olga Reznichenko nor she possibly Iles as the pianist makes her debut recording here at the Loft studio in Cologne. And yet there is a twist when this music masters student in Leipzig traverses the pastoral, bucolic domain that Iles habitually chooses. Also factor in the inevitable influences of Reznichenko's former teachers Michael Wollny and Richie Beirach although Reznichenko is enough of an individualist to swerve away from copying their styles or anyone's (you might think too of Gwilym Simcock a little in some passages). With bassist Lorenz Heigenhuber and drummer Maximilian Stadtfeld there is a quiet and convincing intellectualism at play and while suffused with a chamber-jazz language the direction also has a relationship with classical music although it's certainly more jazz than classical beyond modal building blocks and a certain impressionistic sideways glance that somehow can gain an unlikely intensity. The pieces are her own and certainly retain your interest. 'One Hit Backlash' is more dynamic while 'Ground Most Must Take' has an avant beginning thanks to the bassist's aching high register sense of abstraction. It's all obviously impressive playing technically. Whether the album grips the listener throughout is another matter although there are flashes of inspiration that make you stay for the long haul and makes this a promising debut where the focus ultimately is really on the pianist more than the trio as an entity even if it is not designed as such. But isn't that often the way with a piano trio no matter how democratic a construct it is? SG

Tracklist:
1.01 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - Liquid Salt Sleeps Lost (7:25)
1.02 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - Restless Stone Stops Motion (8:20)
1.03 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - Still Found from Below (6:35)
1.04 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - One Hit Backlash (3:51)
1.05 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - Ground Most Must Take (7:23)
1.06 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - Slipping Pace Returning Time (4:34)
1.07 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - Final Mirrors Facing Flames (4:23)
1.08 - Olga Reznichenko Trio - All After Nothing Left (6:26)