Johan Lindvall Trio - No City, No Tree, No Lake (2019)

Johan Lindvall, last seen on Jazzland Recordings as part of Torg, brings a fresh, unfettered take on the classic piano trio format in a series of compositions that are mostly intimate miniatures rather than imposing monoliths. The music drives forward, at times like a fragmentary, sonic kaleidoscope, at others like a (mostly) acoustic version of glitchtronics, frequently hinting at one traditional jazz genre or another before launching in a different direction entirely. This is the sound of restless creativity with infinite energy to power it along. Time signatures interweave and stumble around each other in a playful dance, Adrian Myhr's (Torg, Bansal) bass acting as an anchor one moment, taking flight the next, while Andreas Winther's (Kjetil Mulelid Trio, Megalodon Collective) scattergun rhythms can coalesce to become a seemingly unstoppable machine before realigning themselves as a textural collage of skins and cymbals. Lindvall's playing demonstrates a fluidity and fluency that almost suggests he and the piano (and occasional electronic keyboard) are in a spiritual communion beyond mere skills and chops. This is an organic and instinctive music, harmonic and rhythmic peregrinations, making observations from a free flight high above generic restrictions.