Twenty-plus years into her extraordinary career, pianist Kris Davis continues to grow. Though Lost in Geneva is only the second studio album with bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Johnathan Blake, the band sounds like it’s been together much longer – such is the deep level of the trio’s interplay. That allows Davis to push herself further and further into her own talent.
That’s immediately apparent from “The Subtext,” the opening cut. Davis kicks it off with rolling notes that sound like croquet balls tunefully rolling down the stairs, before Hurst and Blake leap in to spur her to even greater momentum. The equally vibrant “Congestion Pricing” and the Blake-penned “Clues” continue the trend – outsider piano flowing across rock steady rhythms, with lilting keyboard melodies and rhythm-busting flourishes surfacing to keep even a hint of formula at bay. These tunes aren’t about firepower, though, but energy – particularly in how this trio focuses their attack for maximum impact, like a tornado being channeled through a vibranium piping bag.
Geneva isn’t all about the rush, though. The trio-improvised “Northern Flicker” and “Mourning Dove” lay more into ambience, taking breaths and setting scenes from their imagination, while “The Ballerina” takes us on a quiet but insistent journey through an imaginary pirouette. Hurst’s “The Bluesy Bird in Bob’s Backyard,” indeed based on birdsong, introduces whimsy to the set, while still upholding the highest standards of musicality. The band even manages to turn “Nature Piece 5,” a piece from the pen of the notoriously challenging composer Morton Feldman, and into a jazz tune.
No matter how off-kilter any element the musicians introduce to the mix may seem, it all works as one satisfying whole, as accessible and enchanting as it is angular and odd. That’s a tricky balance, but one the Kris Davis Trio pulls off with exceptional dexterity and grace.
