Neil Cowley Trio

Neil Cowley has been one of the promising new faces of English crossover jazz for some years now. It is not really surprising of someone who was already playing Shostakovich at the Queen Elizabeth Hall when he was ten, and later joined the acid jazz band Brand New Heavies as a keyboard player.

CD | Neil Cowley Trio ●●
The Face of Mount Molehill jazz (Naim Jazz/Rough Trade Distribution)

If his earlier playing was a jazz version of progrock, there is now little space for exhibitionism. As though he is giving his melodies more room to breathe, which has led to comparisons with minimalist masters like Michael Nyman and Steve Reich. This new penchant for simplicity does not diminish Cowley’s gift of stitching clever patterns between the rhythms of the (new) bassist Rex Horan and drummer Evan Jenkins, who have had to be more patient this time before letting loose. Inspired by Eno-esque ambient, prominent strings, and the guitar effects of Leo Abrahams, the finished product sounds both contemplative and playful, ambitious and dynamic, but occasionally also rather ambiguous and forced.

11/5, 20.00, €12, Ancienne Belgique