(Free Jazz, Contemporary, Avant-Garde) Christoph Irniger Trio (Raffaele Bossard & Ziv Ravitz) - Gowanus Canal - 2013 [Intakt Records], WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

The pieces on this album celebrate melody without once degenerating into the trivial. They are tone poems which demonstrate that accessible melodies and complex tonal worlds need not be mutually exclusive and can in fact make sense of each other. This is achieved because the rhythm section push the sonorous potential of their instruments way further than most classical trios. Using tones of every shade and colour, the drums and bass succeed in expanding the three-piece ensemble into a veritable orchestra. It is the tone which makes this music, and the virtue of restraint which gives it its power.
The bandleader und tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger, born 1979 in Zürich, works with musicians including the drummer Nasheet Waits and the saxophonist Ohad Talmor. Irniger founded the Christoph Irniger Quartett / Trio, the bands Pilgrim and Cowboys from Hell, and was sideman und co-leader of NoReduce, R.I.S.S. and the Lucerne Jazz Orchestra.
The double bassist Raffaele Bossard, born 1982 in Los Angeles, studied with renowned bassists such as Heiri Känzig and is leader of his own band, Junction Box.
The drummer Ziv Ravitz, born 1976 in Be'er Sheva in Israel, is a member of the Lee Konitz New Quartet, the Shai Maestro Trio and the Yaron Herman Group. An important figure in the Israeli jazz scene, Ravitz is currently one of the most sought-after percussionists in New York, where he lives.
(from the liner notes by Peter Haffner)

Christoph Irniger - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Raffaele Bossard - bass
Ziv Ravitz - drums