Matt McMahon Trio - Ellipsis

Matt's second release on Kimnara Records

"This new trio cd from Matt is another confirmation of the astonishing vibrancy of the Australian jazz scene.

Writers such as Stuart Nicholson contend that the most interesting jazz is now coming from Northern Europe rather than the US. I'd contend that the most interesting jazz is coming from 2 address' - Europe and right here in your own backyard.

Matt's new cd is as good as anything released by any label anywhere on the planet. And a good deal better than most.

"Ellipsis" is one of those records that gets better and better with each play. Essential Australian jazz .

Read John Shands review:

The best practitioners of sport and of music have much in common. They stretch time. Ricky Ponting has more time to get into position to play a shot against 150kph bowling than ordinary batsmen.

Improvised music can be similarly fraught: the music rushing past, and a thousand aesthetic and technical decisions to make, while ears, limbs and imagination are all working overtime. But some musicians seem to be completely unhurried; to have extra time to get it right. Matt McMahon is among them.

The Sydney pianist, best known as Vince Jones's musical director and co-songwriter, became a professional musician by accident when the casual gigs he took while studying literature became regular enough to live off. He swiftly developed his trademarks: elegance stripped of ornamentation, and lyricism braced with rigour.

Whereas some of his peers have documented their work on CD more often than they have birthdays, McMahon waited. And waited. Yes, there were countless sideman recordings and albums by the magical improvising trio he jointly leads with trumpeter Phil Slater and drummer Simon Barker, Band of Five Names, but nothing under his own name.

After about 15 years on the scene he released his first solo album, "Paths and Streams ", a collection of pieces by Australian composers ranging from Peter Sculthorpe to Robyne Dunn, performed by jazz quintet and string quartet. That was only last year, and it was one of the half-dozen best releases of 2006. I mean internationally.

Now the first release by his long-term trio with bassist Jonathan Brown and Simon Barker finally emerges, and it is stunning.

The waves of invention pick you up and transport you with their ardour and their grace, but all the while you're aware of a keen intelligence that knew what it wanted in advance. A collective improvisation and a traditional Irish air apart, the pieces are all McMahon's; all expertly sculpted to bring out the best in the three participants. Brown's minimalist bass playing suits the conception perfectly. Dense information at the bottom of the sound spectrum clutters music more than that at the top, so Brown gives the music air - not to mention a firm foundation and some charming, rather reserved solos.

That frees up space for Barker's endless rhythmic invention. He offers eerie, out-of-time cymbal washes on "Save Some Time", and restless mallets behind McMahon's sparse, bell-like treble notes on the improvised "Present Moment ".

McMahon's playing is ravishing on "Ceremony ", a piece that unfolds slowly and tentatively to start, then has an almost formal beauty about it, as does his solo piano on "Silver Chime". At the other end of the spectrum "Four Walls" is a scything piece of swing, McMahon hurtling across the keyboard, and both Brown and Barker producing bold,resourceful solos. I especially like the aching piano improvising on a lament called "Jagungal", a mood that is sustained through "The Maid of Coolmore", and then released with the sparse, exquisitely-voiced chords of the closing "Ellipsis".

The recording quality is excellent, and the music is as good as any current piano-trio jazz." SMH