Florian Hoefner Trio: First Spring
Alma Records / Universal

With the jazz piano tradition so established and with such a long history behind it, it can't be easy for artists to devise new takes on the form. With First Spring, Florian Hoefner does so, however, and in a most imaginative way. Adopting an approach that impresses for being organically driven rather than calculated, the pianist allowed his affection for folk and country music to orient his approach to the recording project. The concept developed out of a desire to transfer the music of artists he'd been listening to, among them Chris Thile, Levon Helm, and Sam Amidon, into the jazz trio idiom.

One of Hoefner's inspired moves was to recognize how the sound of the fiddle could be incorporated into his trio's approach, specifically via the double bass, which would not so much mimic the fiddle's role but instead extend its identity into a different context using a related string instrument. Consequently, Andrew Downing's bass is a prominently featured, his bowed bass treated as an additional melody instrument and second lead voice. Rounding out the group is drummer Nick Fraser, whose musicality and textural command are evident throughout.

Hoefner's handling of the original material is respectful but not precious. While careful to preserve its original character, he catalyzed it into a form emblematic of an improvising jazz piano trio. It's a hybrid of sorts, then, but, as the results show, one seamlessly melded. That the pianist's first foray into trio playing is so accomplished is in part explained by his extensive background: he's issued three albums with his quartet, the Florian Hoefner Group; issued five as a member of the Germany-based collective Subtone; and performed with figures such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joe Lovano, and Seamus Blake.

It's always risky to draw too close a connection between the artist's home and music, but in this case the argument can be made. While Hoefner was born and raised in Germany, he now calls Newfoundland home, and in that regard it's easy to hear the character of the setting, with sky and water stretching out as far as the eye can see, as an influence—despite the fact that the album was recorded at Union Sound Company in Toronto (bolstering the Canadian connection, Downing and Fraser both hail from Toronto). Of the nine pieces presented, six are covers and three Hoefner originals.

His playing is nuanced and as such invites close listening to fully appreciate the artistry in play. There are no cheap theatrics, the pianist generally seducing by way of elegance and understatement. That doesn't mean the playing's without heat, however, as moments arise where the trio's attack escalates, during “Solstice,” Hoefner's tribute to mandolin virtuoso Thile, and “The Maid on the Shore,” to cite two instances.

Of all the tunes, it's the opener that references the inspirations for the project most explicitly. “Hound's Tune,” written by the late Newfoundland fiddle master Rufus Guinchard, positions Downing's arco voicing of the fiddle phrase at the forefront and is, in fact, the first element heard. The folk and country ties established, the music advances into trio territory, Hoefner leading the way with a characteristically sparkling solo. As happens throughout the recording, the music exemplifies jazz's liberating spirit without ever allowing the influences to retreat wholly into the background.

In contrast to the effervescence of the opener, Byron Isaacs' “Calvary” (originally heard on Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer album) slows the tempo for a probing, blues-flavoured treatment, the bass melody the element around which all else constellates. Deepening its dark mood, the pianist circles around the melody, flirting dramatically with dissonance here and sprinkling it with block chords and runs there. Hoefner cleverly deploys in his “Winter in June” a static piano ostinato to convey the monotony that comes from a winter lasting too long, and the sometimes brooding tone of the material likewise reflects the mood of someone anxious for the snows to disappear. Melancholy permeates the trio's poetic rendering of the Armenian folk song “Loosin' Yelav,” one of the set's most expressive performances.

December 2019