Tonino Miano - MOSS/electric (2026) [Hi-Res]

Italian pianist Tonino Miano, together with his regular trio — Riccardo Grosso on double bass and Andrea Melani on drums — releases the album MOSS/Electric on Aut Records, continuing the direction set on the earlier record Luminary (2024). The record's central idea is the intrusion of electronic and synthesized sounds into the classic acoustic piano-trio format: Miano's synths mimic clarinet or xylophone one moment and openly artificial, "computer-age" timbres the next, cutting into the live interplay of piano, bass, and drums. It's the trio's reaction to these electronic intrusions — tension, a tug-of-war between instruments, moments where the synth overtakes the acoustic sound or dissolves back into it — that produces the album's most interesting and unpredictable moments. The purely acoustic tracks are no less exploratory and dispersed than the electro-acoustic ones: Miano leaves generous room for solo statements from Grosso and Melani, and pieces like "Eight Minutes to The Sun" show that even without overt effects, the pianist's sensitive touch alone can create a fragile, almost celestial atmosphere. The review's ultimate conclusion: electronics alone don't make jazz interesting — the effect comes from the intuition and technical skill of the musicians wielding it.

Tracklist:
1. Tonino Miano - Intro/Light Under the Tongue
2. Tonino Miano - Moon Droplets on my Sleeve
3. Tonino Miano - Mycelium
4. Tonino Miano - After Current
5. Tonino Miano - Moss Electric
6. Tonino Miano - Filament Drift
7. Tonino Miano - Chlorophilia
8. Tonino Miano - Eight Minutes to the Sun
9. Tonino Miano - Outro