Bad Alchemy January 2016

SIMON NABATOV und MARK DRESSER, das geht gut zusammen, wie "Projections" (Clean Feet, 2015) zeigt. Was die beiden am 31.5.2014 im Kölner LOFT miteinander spielten, war aber nur der halbe Abend. Die andere Hälfte bestritten der LOFT-Hauspianist und der kalifornische Bassist, der nach einer 18-jährigen Downtown-Phase seit 2004 in San Diego lebt und lehrt, zusammen mit dem jungen Drummer DOMINIK MAHNIG. Der stammt aus Willisau, kam nach Köln, um dort seinen Master zu machen, und mischt da in der Szene gut mit. Mit dem Zooom Trio war er auch schon auf Leo zu hören. Die 25-30 Jahre Vorsprung an Spielpraxis und Erfahrung, die seinen Partnern bei Equal Poise (LR 745) die Hände führt, sind ein Bonus, aber keine hörbare Differenz in der Beherrschung der gemeinsamen Sprache. Wenn Nabatov und Dresser sich bei einigen Kölsch darüber austauschen wollten, was sie so getrieben haben seit ihrer Begegnung bei Klaus Königs "The Song Of Songs" (1993), hätten sie Stoff für einen "Lindenstraße"-langen Rattenschwanz an NowJazz-Episoden. Was an der Theke nur eine Reihe von Anekdoten wäre, wird auf der Bühne zum intensiven Austausch und einer Demonstration in Sachen Dynamik und Klangfarbe, fließendem Geben und Empfangen, überraschendem Druck und strudelndem Gegendruck, Finden ohne zu suchen. Poise verweist auf die dynamische Viskosität, die Zähflüssigkeit eines Fluids, auf Fließfähigkeit, Kohäsion und innere Reibung - wie Momente stagnierender Repetitionen oder Dressers knarzender Bogen plastisch zeigen. Und gleichzeitig auf ein Equilibrium und eine Gelassenheit, die die Dinge am Schweben hält, selbst wenn es turbulent wird wie auf Wildwasser. Kakophone Wischer, hornissiges Surren und lapidares Klopfen verwandeln sich im Handumdrehen in tag- träumerisches Spintisieren oder lässigen Swing, pendeln zwischen Feinsinn und grobmotorischen Schüben oder führen die Kontraste parallel. Nur die Zuhörer müssen um ihr Gleichgewicht fürchten. Aber deswegen sind sie ja da.

Rigobert Dittmann

Jazz Podium February 2016

Simon Nabatov & Mark Dresser
Projections
Clean Feed Records

Simon Nabatov & Mark Dresser & Dominik Mahnig
Equal Poise
Leo Records

Der gebürtige Moskauer und langjährige New Yorker Pianist Simon Nabatov feiert 2015 sein 25-jähriges Jubiläum am Wohnort Köln mit zahlreichen Konzerten. Passend dazu werden diese beiden CDs jetzt veröffentlicht, beide am gleichen Tag im Mai 2014 in Nabatovs Kölner musikalischem "Wohnzimmer" aufgenommen, dem Konzertraum und Aufnahmestudio Loft. Nabatov ist wohl der kompletteste der in Deutschland lebenden improvisierenden Pianisten, sowohl in technischer wie in musikalischer Hinsicht. Sein umfangreich dokumentiertes Werk reicht von einem Tribute an den amerikanischen Bebop Pianisten Herbie Nichols über lateinamerikanische Musik bis zu sehr freier Improvisation. Die vorliegenden Aufnahmen bewegen sich am freien Ende dieses Spektrums. Obwohl Nabatov und Bassist Mark Dresser sich schon seit Jahrzehnten kannten und schätzten, hatten sie nie in einer festen Band zusammengespielt. Bei diesem Treffen in Köln beweisen sie ihre Meisterschaft in Improvisation als spontaner Komposition. Das beginnt auf der Duo-CD gleich in "Cover your Basses" mit energiegeladenem Dialog ohne langes Abtasten. "Pliant Giant" erweist sich als Kaleidoskop von Stimmungen mit Momenten geradezu zärtlichen Dialogs, Passagen großer musikalischer Schönheit und dann wieder kraft-, kunst- und absichtsvoller Disharmonien und Dynamikwechseln. Auf "Equal Poise" macht der junge Kölner Schlagzeuger Dominik Mahnig die Band zum Trio, der regelmäßig mit Nabatov zusammenwirkt. Er steht Nabatov und Dresser nicht nach in der Fähigkeit, aufmerksam auf seine Mitspieler zu hören und spontan zu reagieren, wie er gleich in "Full Circles" beweist. Dazu bringt er ein eindrucksvolles Arsenal an perkussiven Elementen selbstbewusst ein, mit denen er immer wieder intelligent Akzente setzt, wenn Nabatov selbst die perkussiven Eigenschaften des wunderbaren Steinway D Flügels auskostet oder Dresser in "Minor Force" seinen Bass als Streichinstrument bearbeitet. Aufmerksames Zuhören macht viel Freude.

Hans-Bernd Kittlaus

Percorsi Musicali Febrary 2016

Simon Nabatov + Equal Poise

Se si vuole fare una prima conoscenza del pianista russo Simon Nabatov, l'occasione utile è ascoltare Surge, primo pezzo di un LP edito nell'88 dalla GM Recordings e attribuito a Paul Motian (Circle the line): in verità, in quell'album (che era più appannaggio di Nabatov e del bassista Ed Schuller dal punto di vista compositivo), era già possibile evincere le qualità del pianista straordinario: preparazione classica, una mostruosa padronanza degli accordi e delle scale, con una velocità di legato pazzesca, pari o superiore a quella mostrata da alcuni mostri sacri del pianismo jazz (Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner) e senza perdere nessuna nota in definizione; navigando a vista nei meandri del bop e del modalismo, Nabatov forniva una rinfrescata della bellezza armonica e melodica del pianismo jazz. Come spesso accade quando si impone una figura eclatante nell'ambito di uno strumento, Nabatov all'inizio della sua carriera, impose la qualità tecnica nella consapevole trasmigrazione dell'oggetto del concerto e della collaborazione dirottata nel classicismo jazz (il trio sopra tutto): stette per un periodo a New York e in Italia, prima di trovare una residenza definitiva a Colonia, ed in quegli anni portò in giro il suo biglietto di visita, Locomotion, un cd in solitudine, che lo vede saettare al grand piano con un debito verso Herbie Nichols, Monk e i pianisti classici russi, benché la sua popolarità presso gli appassionati sembrò crescere con il New York Trio (assieme a Tom Rainey e ad un alternativo binomio Mark Helias-Drew Gress) tramite lavori come Tough Customer e soprattutto Sneak Preview. Il trio suonava in maniera eccellente, con una condivisione delle dinamiche strumentali, portate ai massimi livelli: in Sneak Preview, registrato agli studi Loft di Colonia per la Hat Hut nel 1999, comparivano grandi cose come For Steve o The Lake e Nabatov esacerbava, tramite l'interplay, le pari velocità ritmiche dei suoi collaboratori. Non si può negare come fosse questa la dimensione congeniale di Nabatov, il quale negli album in solo si dirigeva verso altre soluzioni, più concettuali e tese all'affermazione dell'idioma dell'improvvisazione come tema universale da applicare in qualsiasi ambito, sia quello di provenienza classica che quello popolare (in tal senso forte è il richiamo per la canzone brasiliana); quanto alla parte solistica, Perpetuum immobile, un'esibizione live a Colonia nel 2000, fu uno dei momenti più importanti della sua carriera, poiché portò a termine un personale pensiero dialettico, costruito tra il movimento e la stasi. pescando nelle associazioni tecniche ed emotive dei serialisti e della New York school. Ma più in generale, l'ingresso nel nuovo secolo segna per Nabatov un eccezionale impulso creativo: entrato nella scuderia di Leo Feigin in pianta stabile, Nabatov tirerà fuori una trilogia discografica dedicata ai rapporti tra l'improvvisazione e la letteratura russa ribelle, impegnandosi in una sorta di trasposizione musicale di testi poetici accuratamente scelti, utilizzando non solo il jazz, ma anche prendendo spunto per la prima volta dai dettami della free improvisation; inoltre tale tipo di rappresentazione lo spinge anche verso il superamento del trio. Nature Morte è un'interpretazione sonora dei dieci versi dell'omonimo componimento di Joseph Brodsky (un quartetto immacolato con Nils Wogram, Frank Gratkowski e Phil Minton) che vive di una luce propria ben in contrasto con i temi del poeta russo; The master and margarita cerca di entrare nei luoghi e sentimenti del romanzo di Mikhail Bulgakov (un quintetto con Mark Feldman, Herb Robertson, Mark Helias e Tom Rainey) restando ben aggrappato ad una forma di chamber jazz; A few incidences si basa sui testi del surrealista Daniil Kharms, riprendendo la scenica combinazione tra recitato libero e musica (un ottetto con gli stessi elementi di Nature Morte e l'aggiunta di Ernst Reijseger, Cor Fuhler, Matt Penman, Michael Sarin), in quella che diventa un'ottimo veicolo per una vetrina teatrale in odore di anti-conformismo musicale. Per completezza bisogna dire che nel 2010 a Nabatov gli fu offerta la possibilità di un quarto episodio imbevuto nella scrittura russa, allorché la MusikTriennale di Colonia gli affidò una commissione in ensemble che Nabatov sfruttò per citare i testi dei futuristi russi del novecento (l'opera non registrata fu chiamata Gilea revisited e venne rimessa nella disponibilità degli interventi di Jaap Blonk, Gratkowski, Marcus Schmickler e Gerry Heminghway in una formazione chiamata Ensemble Futurrr... di cui si può attualmente disporre di alcuni estratti video che Nabatov ha messo a disposizione sul suo sito internet.
Al di fuori della trilogia, particolarmente efficienti si propongono le collaborazioni con Nils Wogram e Tom Rainey: quanto al primo, Simon sposa la stessa filosofia del dialogo, le lunghe escursioni in cui gli strumenti acquisiscono una loro personalità tramite anche un utilizzo intelligente di alcune tecniche estensive e tra le quattro registrazioni impostate come duo non si può fare a meno di menzionare la vitalità del riuscito Starting a story, così come l'idea di imbastire un'improvvisazione libera in stile sonata nella perfomance speciale di Jazz limbo; quanto al batterista il dialogo in Steady Now si incunea in una misteriosa percussività generale propria dei due strumenti (Nabatov usa piccoli oggetti ed un cracklebox per rendere più straniante il tenore generale dei suoni) ma la segmentazione è una protagonista del connubio. Nabatov, Wogram e Rainey si danno un appuntamento sostanzioso in Nawora, uno splendido lavoro di comunicazione sensoriale demandata al furore e alla complementarietà, dove ciascuno lavora in sovraesposizione elaborando come un rullo la creatività dei pensieri trasmessi in musica; un risultato che rema diversamente da quello ottenuto nel quintetto di Roundup, in cui i tre musicisti in questione vengono accompagnati da un'altra frequente presenza nelle collaborazioni di Nabatov, ossia il sassofonista Matthias Schubert e il cellista Ernst Reijseger: in Roundup è soprattutto Nabatov che recupera un certo impressionismo lasciato latente nel nuovo corso post anni 2000. Con Schubert e Reijseger, Nabatov sembra volersi indirizzare su progetti contemporanei, e non c'è dubbio che in Square down, l'influenza delle idee di Schubert non sia secondaria quanto alla ricerca di un tipo di improvvisazione che si crogiola in principi seriali e risonanze acustiche. Non meno sperimentali si presentano quelle con Gratkowski, specie nel trio assieme Marcus Schmickler in Deployement, che porta Nabatov nella dimensione più avanzata delle preparazioni, dei clusters finalizzati e delle interazioni informatiche. Un'ideologica constatazione degli sviluppi stilistici del pianista russo non sembra nemmeno cozzare contro le idee timbriche del contrabbassista Mark Dresser, molto distanti dalle esplosività di Helias o Dress. Dresser ha un incedere più riflessivo, più avvezzo alle sperimentazioni estese e microtonali sullo strumento, che sono un viatico della sua espressione. Diversamente da Nourishments, in cui lo si apprezzava moltissimo nella veste del contrabbassista guida di un ensemble teso a conseguire un moderno risultato jazzistico, nell'ottimo Projections (per Clean Feed R.) inciso con Nabatov qualche mese fa, Dresser procurava un sostegno del tutto scisso da una capacità ritmica, per un jazz da camera avanzatissimo, centellinato nei suoni. Le qualità sonore si ripresentano nell'ulteriore fase collaborativa svolta dai due musicisti assieme al giovane batterista Dominik Mahnig in casa Leo: Equal Poise è leggermente meno proiettato negli anfratti della sperimentazione e recupera un certo respiro jazzistico, ma è indubbio che allo stesso tempo esso abbia un potenziale emotivo diverso da dirottare: c'è un uso totalizzante della strumentazione (con tracce di free bop, clusters, impressionismo pianistico jazz, pizzicati e subliminali escursioni all'arco di contrabbasso, con un sistema percussivo continuamente in modalità sveglia) che comporta una visuale nervosa, muscolosa dei fatti sonori, e deve sollecitare immagini destabilizzate (nascite, correnti del vento, forze di contrasto, allungamenti): un sistema tipo, come il ring mobile ideato in copertina, una rappresentazione completa del panorama dei rapporti umani.

Ettore Garzia

JazzFlits February 2016

Projections

Equal Poise

Deze twee cd's tonen aan wat een verschil de aanwezigheid van een drummer kan maken. 'Projections', een duo-album van pianist Simon Nabatov en bassist Mark Dresser op Clean Feed, werd opgenomen op 31 mei 2014 in The Loft in Keulen. 'Equal Poise', dat Leo Records nu uitbrengt, blijkt de tweede set te omvatten van datzelfde concert. De jonge Zwitserse drummer Dominik Mahnig is daartoe aan de twee veteranen toegevoegd. De muziek van het duo kenmerkt zich door de volstrekte gelijk- waardigheid van de partners, die elkaar overigens voor het eerst in deze duosetting treffen. Nabatov en Dresser zijn enorme vir- tuozen en zetten hun formidabele techniek hier in om de luiste- raar te verrassen met de klankmogelijkheden van piano en con- trabas. Ze verkennen de percussieve kanten van hun instru- ment, maar schuwen fraaie melodieën ook bepaald niet. 'La Ment', bijvoorbeeld is teder en dromerig, en ontroert. Dresser maakt indruk met hoe hij zijn contrabas soms meer dan levens- groot kan laten zingen maar hem net zo goed klein durft te ma- ken (zoals te horen is in de openingstrack, 'Cover all basses'). Af en toe duikt er wel eens een groove op, en soms swingt het ook, maar dat is veel meer het geval in de trioset. De opener van 'Equal Poise', 'Full circles', doet bijvoorbeeld denken aan het triowerk van Paul Bley. Mahnig toont zich hierin een subtiele ritselaar, die met zijn brushes een overtuigende swing neerzet. In de opening van 'Sambar é bom' mag hij even solo van wal steken, en hier etaleert hij ook zijn fijnzinnigheid. In de loop van het stuk kruipt er een welhaast Braziliaans gevoel in, hetgeen ook de titel verklaart. De meeste (geheel geïmproviseerde) tracks vertonen een affiniteit met het fenomeen pianotrio, waar- door 'Equal Poise' wel wat 'gewoner' klinkt dan 'Projections'. Maar het drietal spreidt zoveel creativiteit en fantasie tentoon dat 'gewoon' normaal niet de kwalificatie voor dit album zou zijn.

Herman te Loo

HIS Voice

February 2016

Výčet v bookletu nám prozradil, kolikrát se už ocitnuli světem ošlehaní veteráni, pianista Simon Nabatov a kontrabasista Mark Dresser, a také mladý švýcarský bubeník Dominik Mahnig na Leo Records: je to sedmnáctkrát, přičemž samozřejmě vévodí Nabatov. Záznam z koncertování v kolínském LOFTu (z 31. května 2014), obdařený programovým názvem Equal Poise, je ovšem jejich prvním – a hned neobyčejně výbušným setkáním v této sestavě. Označuje vzájemnost jejich vztahů v rovnoprávné rovnováze, což charakterizuje všech pět důsledně proimprovizovaných celků.

Už nájezd do téměř dvanáctiminutových Full Circles rozehrává perfektní trojhru, ve které má každý tón svoji kalibraci, váhu, důraz a ojedinělost. Všichni tři se okamžitě rozprostírají, náladují, vzájemně se vyhecovávají, aniž se k něčemu nutí, přecházejí samovolně samozřejmě z metra do metra, z nadupané důsažnosti do překvápkové zažertovánky v sevřeném trojšiku, v němž sice vede pianista, ale jeho kolegové jsou podobně bezodešní, cyklicky opovážní, protože si rozvolňují prostor pro vlastní extravagance, zastřenostní výboje i pospěšné hamižnosti, zaplněné tu zahromováním, tu odléháním. Vše se tady vaří v jednom tyglíku od virválnostního vtrhnutí do prodýchaných šolíchaček, takže se nemůžeme rozhodnout, komu se máme víc podivovat. Elegantní balanc, rozjiskřovaný i zádumný, přískočně poskočný, možná v sobě skrývá bezděkou rutinu, výsledek je však naprosto nedogmatizující.

Jakmile se basa vpáčí do Wind Up and Down, rozehrávavě zasmyčcuje a zaroztodivní, bicí ji podklusávají a klavír podehřmívá. Je to trojdiv, a nedivíme se pak, když před námi vyvstane vmžiku odlišná atmosféra, kterou všichni bez váhání přijmou, zaswingují, zabouří, zapodiví se, zaradostní si, chvatně zarumplují, ale to už se vynoří odlišná peripetie harmonění. Většinou je to klavír, který udá tón k proměně, ale ani se nevzpamatujeme a všichni tři táhnou za jeden provaz probírání přebírání a očividného obepínání tématu.

Do Sambar é bom naopak vtrhnou bicí, zapáčí a vše rozbujněně rozkymácí, ale už je tu basa a jejich římsování dovybujňuje a oba nástroje se vzájemně postřečkovávají, dokud klavír situaci nezpevní a nechopí se melodického vstřícňování za basozřivého lapálnění a zavýkřičnosti bicích. Když pak basa se zřetelnou záhybností otazníkuje, vše se lomí v dalších rozhraňujících křižovatkách do překotnění s výbušnivými bicími, uhranutě smrštnícím klavírem a výsečňováním, prohružováním, propíráním. Nejde tu však o žádné štafetování, jak to někdy při volném improvizování bývá zvyklostí, protože bleskurychlé reagování nástrojů je bezezpytné, je to čistá radost ze společné hry.

Klavír sice i v Minor Force určuje nasměrování dějovosti, nicméně výluzné vyhmatňování a vyhutňování basy je tu náladotvorné, vždyznovuprobudivé, forzírovaně převrativé, až zaskočivé a nutkavě pohrouživé, ovšem bicí si vždycky najdou způsob, jak se vetřít do hry. Obročné hazardničení a připozadušování celé trojice, její neustále se renovující zvýraznivost a poklopňující širočivost pak mizí až do klopýtného (nikoli klopotného) zatěkání.

Závěrečné Lithe Moves probácivě vyrumplují bicí s evokující netrudnomyslností, basa je zaobhaluje a klavír zahršlí a rozehraje se do jarostného zpřízvučnění, protýkaného všemi mometálními zvraty (a že jich je!). Aprílové střídání nálad od zdánlivé roztěkanosti přes prolnavé iluzorničení po švitořivě živelné zastavárničení za asistence rozvodivých bicích nás dovede až do čtyřiačtyřicáté minuty a čtrnácti vteřin a můžeme uzavírat. Souhru této výlučné trojice je možno nazvat berdejováním, je to nesnaživostní vyvlastňování dobytých pozic a jejich nové a noví přivlastňování, plné aportovaných nečekaností, přitom vše probíhá s téměř nebetyčnou jistotou. Je to album, jehož poslech si s gustem zopakujete.

Z.K. Slaby

Jazz Weekly March 2016

Simon Nabatov/p, Mark Dresser/b and Dominik Mahnig/dr are able to bop and swing, but, as they say, with "no predictable solos spots, no ego trips, no discernable stylisic dogmas."  They make the free spirited interplay not only accessible, but at times danceable as on"Full Circles" and "Lithe Moves." The three wax and wane, coalesce and pull apart and lock together just before taking a triad of directions during "Wind Up and Down." Nabatov has a rich touch on the piano, and the interaction between Dresser and Mahnig makes for some exciting sounds, harmonies and grooves.

George W. Harris

Opduvel March 2016

Halverwege vorig jaar verscheen de cd  'Projections' van de Russische, in Duitsland vertoevende pianist Simon Nabatov en de Amerikaanse bassist Mark Dresser. 'Projections' is opgenomen op 31 mei 2014 in de LOFT in Keulen en op dezelfde dag is ook 'Equal Poise' vastgelegd, waarop de twee geroutineerde jazzmusici worden bijgestaan door de jonge Zwitserse drummer Dominik Mahnig.

Nabatov en Dresser zijn zo ervaren dat de setting waarin zij hun instrument bespelen er niet toe lijkt te doen. Het aanpassingsvermogen is fenomenaal, maar beiden drukken ook ontegenzeglijk hun eigen(wijze) stempel op het muzikale gebeuren. Gelukkigerwijs doet ook Mahnig dat op deze plaat: hij is opvallend aanwezig én speelt in dienst van de samenklank van het trio.

De titel 'Equal Poise' is goed gekozen: er is evenwicht tussen de drie muzikanten en in de muziek die zij voortbrengen. Zoals in de liner notes bij het album wordt verwoord, zijn er geen voorspelbare solospots, geen egotrips, geen waarneembare stylistische dogma's, alleen de pure vreugde van het muziek maken van drie gelijkgestemde zielen. Het drietal maakt deze woorden volledig waar, maar leidt het ook tot boeiende muziek? Nou, reken maar.

De jazz van het drietal kan bij oppervlakkige beluistering soms netjes, zelfs elegant klinken, zoals de pianoklanken in de opening van Full Circles, maar er wordt ook spanning opgebouwd en ontladen en er is ruimte voor ontregeling. De muzikale structuur is niet loos maar wel los en de spelopvatting is binnen die losse structuur zo vrij als mogelijk. Uitspattingen komen op welkome momenten en pakken zonder uitzondering fraai uit. 

Dat de technische bagage van deze drie muzikanten groot is, zal geen verbazing wekken. Nabatov speelt met klaarblijkelijk speels gemak de ene na de andere sprankelende pianoriedel, daarbij een verfijnd gevoel voor melodie aan de dag leggend. De dynamiek in zijn spel is weergaloos; hij weet, steeds goed geplaatst, ferm en percussief uit te halen, maar zelfs in die passages toont hij zijn melodische klasse.  

Dresser toont zich net als op 'Projections' bijzonder veelzijdig en zowel meegaand als tegendraads. Zijn warme, ronde toon wordt afgewisseld met grilliger contrabas-spel. Mahnigs drumspel is vindingrijk zonder te opzichtig te zijn; hij gebruikt de mogelijkheden van de drumkit volop en daarnaast maakt hij gebruik van wat attributen, maar het is geen muzikale trukendoos die hij opentrekt.

Vijf stukken kent 'Equal Poise' en in alle vijf toont het drietal hoe vindingrijk men musiceert, hoe goed men naar elkaar luistert en elkaar de ruimte geeft, en dat alles om tot een zo goed mogelijke samenklank als trio te komen. Natuurlijk zijn er her en der wat korte solo- en duospots, maar ook die staan uiteindelijk in dienst van het gezamenlijke spel. De interactie is werkelijk fabelachtig en 'Equal Poise' is na 'Projections', en met veel dank aan Mahnig, de tweede grandioze cd van Nabatov en Dresser in een paar maanden tijd. 

Gert Derkx

JazzViews April 2016

This album demonstrates how Nabatov and Dresser in unison can be so masterfully inventive at extemporaneous composition, although, I think, they have not previously played together in a settled group.  Drummer Mahnig has collaborated beforehand with Nabatov and this is fairly obvious from the opening track, ‘Full Circles’, in which he exhibits considerable self-assurance and poise.

Each musician displays both ability and willingness to assiduously heed his partners and their work and it is fascinating to hear the drums responding to the variety of inputs from piano and bass with an inspiring battery of tapping and drumming originals.  In turn, piano and bass answer back with spontaneous approaches to the percussive elements of their instruments.

The trio has an original sound, a long way from the conventional yet with audible roots, though delivered with freedom of interpretation.  The trio and their album offer a phantasmagoria of dispositions and tempers that veer between instants of calculated dissonances, animated variations, potency, talent, caring trade-offs and passageways of melodious exquisiteness.  There aren’t too many trios around that sound this good.

Ken Cheetham

Draaiomjeoren.NL April 2016

Van een geheel andere orde is het volledig geïmproviseerde concert dat pianist Simon Nabatov, bassist Mark Dresser en drummer Dominik Mahnig gaven in De Loft in Keulen, op 31 mei 2014. Nabatov is letterlijk een onnavolgbare pianist. Melodische fragmenten doemen op om even plotseling weer te verdwijnen, op te lossen in onontwarbare kluwen van noten. Reeds in opener 'Full Circles' leidt dit tot menig enerverend moment, temeer omdat Dresser en Mahnig het spel perfect aanvoelen. En zo beheerst als het er bij Brederode aan toe gaat, zo onstuimig klinkt het hier waar het experiment voorop staat. Elkaar aftastend, als boksers in de ring - een cartoon van een boksring siert niet voor niets het cd-boekje - bepaalt eenieder zijn positie, pakt zijn rol, maar geeft ook de ander de ruimte. Zoals het in goede improvisatie betaamt.

Ben Taffijn

Free Jazz Collective May 2016

Following last year's Projections, Simon Nabatov and Mark Dresser are back on record together in standard piano trio formation with up-and-coming drummer Dominik Mahnig. Equal Poise seems a cheeky name for this set of five rowdy improvisations; the stylized boxing ring depicted on the album cover is off-kilter and wobbly. Yet at the same time it's perhaps in the album's dynamic extremes that some sort of balance, ultimately, is achieved. On the one hand this repeated exploration of limits lends each track a seeming, superficial sameness. On the other hand, though, it makes each track—with some attention to detail—its own world worth inhabiting.

First up, "Full Circles" is itself built of ebbs and flows, advances and retreats. Nabatov has a knack here for creating drama by playing with proportion—he might build up tension and intensity gradually only to withdraw suddenly, or crash a quiet moment with a booming low-register chord cluster. Not that he can't sustain sensitivity, but the most thrilling moments for me are when his playing leaves his band mates in its wake.

Given Nabatov's intrepid power, while listening it's hard not to think of the boxing ring album art or the blurb on the Leo site, which compares the music to a bout: "Push and pull, jabs and hooks, gloves on and off, circling around and direct engagement…" There's certainly a physicality to Nabatov's playing here—to Dresser's, too—even a kind of avuncular bullying, given the generational gap between the two veteran players and the twenty-something Mahnig. Of course the drummer survives each round just fine. It's the boxing ring itself—a space of structure and boundary, inherited codes and rules, not unlike the classic jazz piano trio configuration after all—that's left bent out of shape, almost out of recognition.

Indeed, elsewhere the trio set their efforts toward cooperation and interplay. It's no surprise that Dresser's playing, whether textural or propulsive, makes a reliable complement to Nabatov's. And while Mahnig isn't afraid to experiment on his kit, at times he provides the decisive ingredient when the trio draws together rhythmically. One of my favorite examples of this is his perfectly stiff almost-groove over Nabatov's two-handed pattern and Dresser's eighth-note sawing near the end of "Minor Force." And on the final track, "Lithe Moves," the trio even drops in and out of some genuine swing—Nabatov flirting with some lithe indeed post-bop phrases, Mahnig working the ride and stamping out a crisp two and four. But to overemphasize these moments would be to ignore all the other wonderful, completely dissimilar moments of unpredictable discovery and tension. It's in the balance of the two, again, that Equal Poise succeeds.

Eric McDowell

Mr: Stu's Record Room May 2016

Three mightily expressive musical personalities, Simon Nabatov, Mark Dresser, & Dominik Mahnig converge with Equal Poise for a stunningly intense session recorded live at the Loft in Köln. Among his dozens of projects, the inventive Dresser is still probably best known as Anthony Braxton's bassist in his quartet in the late Eighties and early Nineties. Pianist Nabatov has enjoyed fruitful associations with creative musicians like Perry Robinson, Paul Motian, Mark Helias, Nils Wogram, Matthias Schubert and many, many others. The Nabatov/Dresser duet session on Clean Feed, Projections, was recorded on the same busy night as this trio music. Young drummer Dominik Mahnig brings a load of new ideas to the party. As adept with the nuances of brushes as he is with drumsticks, he's also particularly drawn to coaxing sounds out of the drum rims and sides. He more than holds his own in the edgy ebb and flow of these free-wheeling improvisations. With many passages of surprising beauty amid these intricately woven instant compositions, and an almost giddy sense of freedom that pervades the music, Equal Poise is a gem of improvised music, and not to be missed. 

Stuart Kremsky

All Around Jazz May 2016

Russian born pianist Simon Nabatov has been composing since early childhood. His career has placed his residences in Italy, New York (where he studied at Juilliard), and Germany, where he finally settled. He has worked or recorded with Barre Phillips, Ray Anderson, Ed Schuller and, as a leader, has recorded in a variety of settings from solo to octet. Trombonist Nils Wogram has been one of Nabatov's frequent partners but the pianist's most unusual work has been Nature Morte (Leo, 2001), a music and spoken word interpretation of a Joseph Brodsky poem. On Equal Poise he teams with bassist Mark Dresser, with whom he issued the duet recording Projections (Clean Feed, 2014) and relative newcomer, drummer Dominik Mahnig Nabatov has worked with a number of trios, often with Mark Helias on bass. Tom Rainey filled the drummer seat on Tough Customer (Enja Records, 1993) and several other Nabatov outings. His work with Gerry Hemingway, Barry Altschul, Gerald Cleaver, Paul Motian and even Han Bennink are among the indications of the pianist's eclectic affinity for superb drummers. The style of Equal Poise is decidedly more overtly percussive than Nabatov's trio work with Motian and Rainey. Mahnig's style is heavier and more punctuated and brings out similar qualities in Nabatov's own playing. Equal Poise opens with "Full Circles," lyrical but with sharp elbows that intermittently poke and prod the piece to abstraction. "Wind Up and Down" has Dresser coaxing an array of sounds from the bass, using bow and plucking and leading Nabatov to an diverse solo that alternates between delicate and pounding. Mahnig shows discretion as he pulls back in the face of his trio-mates more aggressive approach. "Sambar é Bom" and "Minor Force" are further along in their abstract explorations with fragments of melody loosely holding together an assortment of outside excursions. The closing "Lithe Moves" begins with Mahnig's versatile solo and concludes with Nabatov immersed in Cecil Taylor-like territory with torrents of notes and heavy, low register chords pounding their way through the ruckus. Nabatov has been a bit of a chameleon throughout his career. He can be as lyrical as Bill Evans or as progressive an improviser as Alexander Hawkins, moving back and forth from hyper-kinetic percussive effects to impressionism. Not nearly as well known in the U.S. as he should be, Nabatov's long overdue recognition should be furthered with Equal Poise, an adventurous and edgy collection with high energy performances all around.  

Karl Ackermann

The New York Jazz Record July 2016

…Those exploratory slaps and strums are put to good use on Equal Poise, recorded in Cologne’s Loft, where Dresser’s partners are Swiss drummer Dominik Mahnig and Russian-American pianist Simon Nabatov. From “Full Circles”, the first track, the three explore an oceanic expanse where Oscar Peterson’s power, Paul Bley’s diffidence and Cecil Taylor’s dynamics are ports of call. The pianist bolsters the melody so it becomes bulkier yet brisker as it evolves, whispering cymbal strokes prod without pushing and Dresser’s sharpened accents uniquely bend the theme. With Nabatov able to let lose a kinetic waterfall of notes with the speed of an espresso brewing, the others’ rejoinders are equally caffeinated. “Minor Force”, the most expansive track, finds the bassist coupling his shrill, pulsating but descriptive string shakes with staccato pianism. Nabatov mines the piano’s darker regions while advancing the theme with tremolo jumps; his percussive clunks provide the levee-cresting moment as the piece achieves boundless animation.  

Ken Waxman