Viernes 13 Oct 2006, 6:30

Do you ever get the feeling that the concert you're going to will be great no matter what? I did this time. And as Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love and Nate McBride were performing together on one stage, this feeling was bound to become reality.

The place was rather crappy, reminding me of my basement and not much larger either. Of course it was packed with people so my back hurts even now. Fortunately the sound was pretty good and as soon as the music started I could forget all the inconveniences. The trio played two sets, each about 40 minutes long and gave two encores comprising together in almost 2 hours of music.

The interplay between these musicians is just telepatic. I've been a fan of Ken Vandermark for a long time but I still find his style of playing very fresh and captivating. Paal Nilssen-Love is probably my favourite drummer now. He's got marvelous sense of details and great versatility. Rubing the cymbals with a drumstick or hiting various kinds of bells makes his playing a bit experimental but not without jazz feeling. I didn't know much about Nate McBride, except that I've heard him on Spaceways Incorporated and FME records. On the concert he proved to have equally tremendous skills as the other two, so together they were simply breathtaking.

One of the reasons I like Free Music Ensemble so much is that their music has everything that makes modern jazz creative and fun. Good compositions, free form improvisations, vulcanic eruptions of sound, sonoristic lyricism, great individual performances and telepatic interplay - it's all there and balanced in a way that makes FME hell of a good jazz trio.

I'm a little disappointed that The Vandermark 5 tour will miss my town, however this year I've seen almost all of my favourite musician giving a top-notch performances, so I don't really dare to ask for more.