The Necks Live in 2007

A friend of mine, when I mentioned the Necks to him, commented, "Oh, I listened to one of their CDs. It sounded like the Bill Evans Trio." I don't know which one it is he heard, but I know of none where they sound like that. They don't. (Unless on a certain level? No. Did I miss one?) And perhaps that's the point of the Necks. They are an acoustic piano trio that has carved their own stylistic stance outside of the piano trio tradition. Like Nik Baertsch's music they generally groove on a minimalistic cyclical feel.

Well, most of the time, anyway. On their CD Townsville (ReR Necks), recorded live in Australia in 2007, they don't really groove. They perform one long improvisation that drones and gradually builds up waves of reverberant piano undulations that have a kinship with Indian classical, particularly music for the santoor (which is a horizontally placed piano harp played with special plectrums, like the western hammered dulcimer and the Hungarian cimbalom). The bass and drums support with their own timeless waves of a-rhythmic pulsation.

If you are expecting groove music, this Necks album is not the one. If you come to the music without expectations, you will be rewarded with a world of sound that's quite comfortable to live within. It's cosmic without a mood-music vapidity. Now if that sounds good to you, listen to Townsville. Then don't forget to listen to the Bill Evans Trio while you are at it. It's all good.