Listening to Martin Tingvall, Jürgen Spiegel, and Omar Rodrigo Calvo has been a pleasure for over two decades. Their melodiousness, paired with the individual influences of musicians from three countries, creates a captivatingly harmonious tension whenever the Swedish pianist plays with his German drummer and Cuban bassist as the Tingvall Trio. And this pleasure can also be experienced with their latest, ninth album: Pax. But one thing is different.

What is different is called “intention.” Tingvall, who composes the trio's pieces, says: “In a world full of unrest and increasing social polarization, it is particularly important to me to send a message of peace with our music.” Hence the title: Pax, the Latin word for peace.

And is Pax peaceful?

It certainly is. It is a calm, inclusive representative of Nordic-influenced jazz. This applies to the title track Pax, which only appears shortly before the end of the almost hour-long performance, and it also applies to the album as a whole. Nevertheless, it is not a boring album.

This is partly due to the aforementioned characters involved: a melodic pianist with a Latin American-influenced bassist and a drummer whose playing is based on Western rock music. This makes some pieces more accessible than US aficionados would like, and that is definitely a strength.

Another strength is how intensely the music evokes emotions. Whether in the dialogues of Ystad Folksong, the dark bass passages of Shadows, the restless structural elements that repeatedly creep up behind you in Witches, the relaxed overall flow of Cruisin', or the demanding character of The End (which, incidentally, is the penultimate track on the album; it ends with the melancholic Goodbye, which makes saying goodbye to Pax really difficult).

The trio's excellent mix also makes it difficult to say goodbye. The bass is positioned centrally at the front, slightly to the left of the piano, while the drums at the back, slightly to the right, create drive and pulse. The effect is an astonishingly solid connection that creates spatiality while keeping the instruments tangible. It's almost as fascinating as the music itself.

Pax is without question an exciting messenger of peace in many ways. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Martin Tingvall, piano
Omar Rodriguez Calvo, double bass
Jürgen Spiegel, drums

Photo: Steven Haberland