Naming themselves after one of John Coltrane’s most beloved
compositions, the Spanish trio Naima is an electro-acoustic jazz band reminiscent
in some ways to the greatly missed Esbjorn Svensson Trio in their use of
electronics integrated within an acoustic trio. The band consists of Enrique
Ruiz on piano and electronics, Luis Torregrosa on drums, and Rafael Ramos Sania
on bass. The album opens with “A Father’s Anthem” which has dark bowed bass,
and a fractured drumbeat accentuated by droplets of piano notes. “Bye” has a
swirl of windy electronics mirroring the trio in a light fashion that recalls
the post-rock group Tortoise. The electronics swirl ahead while the acoustic trio
remains underneath before surging to a dynamic conclusion. The fast and tight “Al
Llegar Sabríamos Tanto Como Ella” moves dynamically from tense speedy areas to
sections of more openness with spare piano and a very nice bass solo. The
electronic at work on “Future Imperfect” are loud and grinding, ominous and
imperious. The trio is thrown up against it and plays through the slabs of raw
sound. The science fiction nature of the piece moves forward as the group has
to rattle and clank to keep up with the massive edifice of sound that warping
the space and time around it. “Les Debris” also has an ominous and cinematic
feel, with heavy drumming, piano and electronics worrying about the nature of
the music. The dark, shadowy nature of the music continues with Ruiz’s piano
having a dark pitch and covering the musical window live a heavy velvet drape,
as the trio navigates the rainy pre-dawn streets. The sun finally peeks through
on “Animal Chin” a Jaga Jazzist cover, with the music becoming upbeat, uptempo
and happy. It is a bright interlude in the previously dark and ponderous music.
The slamming drums and screeching electronics drive the music home. A hanging
piano chord is met with skull crushing drums on their version of Elliott Smith’s
“Can't Make a Sound” where the sadness that permeated Smith’s short life is
echoed in the music as the music slows to a haunting motif only to be slammed
back against the rocks again like the inexorable tide of his mysterious death.
An alternate take of “A Father’s Anthem” has a slow, spectral opening before
Ruiz adds heft to his piano playing and Torregrosa develops a complex flutter
to his percussion. The music then devolves into chaos with blasting dark piano
chords and fast drumming ultimately giving way to electronic distortion like a
transmission from a spacecraft being lost to static. This is an interesting group;
their music is electro-acoustic and has a flair for the dramatic, with dark textures
and tight rhythms. Bye - amaze.com
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