Niklas Barnö, Joel Grip & Didier Lasserre - Can't Stop Snusing

Stef Gijssels, Free Jazz

Three years ago, this trio released it's debut album also on Ayler, and I was immediately sold to the concept.

Raw and authentic free improvisation, with three artists carefully co-shaping, not just loose sounds, but coherent instant constructions, spatious and open, with deep emotional resonance, whether in the more sensitive or the more abrasive moments. The trio is Niklas Barnö on trumpet, Joel Grip on bass and Didier Lasserre on drums.

"Admitting" is a fluid piece, "Believing" adds intensity by the weird sonic backdrop created by the rhythm section for Barnö's sad or distressed phrases. "Deciding" is not decisive at all, yet has a strong against-the-grain unpredictable rawness. With "Surrendering", the trio lures us into even weirder territory, with bouncing reactions, swift interactions and a soft yet tense finale. The last track, "Awakening" is the most intense piece of the album, evolving with a stringent necessity of force and expressivity, increasing the volume, and with the rhythm section driving the trumpet forward into ever shorter and powerful blasts.

Great stuff.