Eddie Gripper

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Gripper's classical training is obvious in the evenness and restraint of his playing, sympathetically complemented by the trio members., so that between them they impart a pleasing, stripped-down quality to the music. At the same time, the arrangements are fully thought through, the improvised passages alternating with written sub-sections. While always melodic, Gripper's melodies are not the kind that instantly lodge in the memory; rather, he sends out long, tendril-like lines of melody that take their time to explore and evolve. This slightly elusive quality encourages repeated listening, as you try to familiarise yourself with the tunes and their cunningly varied time signatures, as on 'Castle’. 'Lament’, which seems to have been inspired by the death of Gripper's grandmother and other bereavements, begins with an angry sweep across the piano's strings, followed by some searching bass work from Harrison. The title track is a more relaxed affair, whose phrasing and bouncy rhythm evokes Abdullah Ibrahim, while the trio swings comfortably on the chipper 'A Song Unsprung’.

Line Up: Eddie Gripper - piano, Ursula Harrison - bass & Isaac Zuckerman - drums