FAVRE,FLORIAN TRIO - On A Smiling Gust Of Wind (Sealed) (CD)

Right from the start the press in both Switzerland and Germany was in agreement: pianist Florian Favre is inventive and charming, highly talented and artistically willful. Born and raised in Fribourg in western Switzerland, Favre first studied piano and then composition in Bern, where he also founded his trio in 2011. In 2013 bassist Manu Hagmann joined the group and on drums there was another change prior to the latest album - but more on that later. As the sole composer, Favre, now 31 years old, carries the greatest part of artistic responsibility, even though he always leaves a lot of space for his partners. Favre’s pieces have thus far been characterized by “colorful harmonies” (Jazz Thing) and an open mind, their melodies often charged with rhythmic sophistication and spontaneous interactions that increase the intensity even more. Various awards, like the 1st prize at the International Jazzhaus Piano Competition 2012 in Freiburg im Breisgau, attest Florian Favre’s quality. Colleagues value him as a brilliant and equally pleasant fellow player. A lot has happened since the widely acclaimed album Ur, which was released in April 2016. The trio celebrated great successes at festivals (including Amersfoort Jazz (Netherlands), Jazz ? Vienne (France), Palatia Jazz and Ethno Jazz Festival Dushanbe (Tajikistan)), they can enjoy priority sponsorship by Pro Helvetia until 2019 and they won the B-Jazz International Contest as part of the Leuven Jazz Festival in Belgium. Favre himself was honored with a scholarship, which will bring him to New Orleans and New York to compose a piece for jazz trio and orchestra. But before, Florian Favre presents the next work of his sophisticated trio, without any guest features or electronic flavor enhancers. The title On a Smiling Gust of Wind already signalizes airy, positive moods. “I have the feeling, the band was truly flying during this recording,” Favre explains, “and that we played in an easy, relaxed and sincere manner; just as if a gust was giving us tailwind.” Already on the previous album Ur, there was an understated easiness, but it is even more present and catchy now. Besides Favre’s radiant playing, inspired also by European Classical music, a deliberate, compositional clarity is the second pervasive characteristic. In comparison to earlier productions, he placed greater value on spontaneous inspirations, Favre says, and accepting emotions and simple ideas without abstracting them too strongly. To him it’s about an unpretentious beauty that he himself hears and feels in soulful and uplifting music. Not designed as a counter model to intellectually loaded constructs, but rather as a consciously alive expression. The trust in his own instinct might also have to do with Favre’s personal happiness. Why should only pop musicians be allowed to express the euphoria of new love in elevating songs? Humor is part of Favre’s nature anyway, just like a subtle way of playing around with different influences. The awareness for sound of Ravel and Stravinsky fascinates him just as much as the vigorous emphasis of rock bands and electronic sounds. Favre only employs the latter in other projects; in this respect he explicitly separates. What he doesn’t like at all is the artistic ivory tower. Communication within the band and with the audience is important to Favre. On stage he always appears responsive to both and avoids bold gestures or even superficial borrowing. That’s also why Favre’s music seems so focused - now probably more than ever before.