Fact Finding Mission Trichotomy

• 1 Strom 06:07
• 2 The Blank Canvas Pt 1 (feat. James Muller) 05:19
• 3 Lullaby 04:40
• 4 Fact Finding Mission 05:17
• 5 Song For EV 07:36
• 6 Civil Unrest 07:11
• 7 The Brook 07:19
• 8 The Blank Canvas Pt 2 04:14
• 9 Brick By Brick 08:42
• Total Runtime 56:25

Info for Fact Finding Mission

Australian piano trio, Trichotomy really need no introduction. Over the course of two compelling, albums for Naim Jazz (2010's Variations and 2011's The Gentle War) they have carved out a reputation as one of the most exciting trios in contemporary jazz combining the lyricism of EST and the energy levels of The Bad Plus while nonetheless finding their own unique voice. Trichotomy are pianist Sean Foran, percussionist John Parker and double bassist Patrick Marchisella. Inspired by a diverse range of influences from Aphex Twin to Vijay Iyer, and John Zorn to Tord Gustavsen, Trichotomy's music combines a dense rhythmic focus with a refined melodic clarity. On their brilliant new album Fact Finding Mission the core trio is joined by Tunji Beier on percussion, Linsey Pollak on reeds, and guitarist James Muller allowing the band to draw on influences including elements from the European and Indian Folk traditions.

Fact Finding Mission shines with a bright vitality and an unbridled joy in music making. In many ways it's the band's most expansive recording but also one that really celebrates the unity of a band that have been playing together for 13 years. For Foran it's the result in shifts in the lives of the band's members: 'It's a real time of change at the moment. There are children in the lives of two of us (myself and John), and Pat the bass player is back studying - this time pure mathematics. The mood is one of positivity, and a sense of fun, happiness, and a general love of playing music together'. The album also captures what feels like a creative peak as 2012 has been completely about writing and recording new music.

Trichotomy have worked with a multitude of different collaborators including DVA - a duo of percussion and reeds, a string quartet, a video artist and a jazz guitarist. These collaborations have inspired the band to write in new ways, be inspired by different artists and try new concepts for the trio and the way they interact with other musicians.

The album opens with the upbeat and joyful Strom (meaning stream, current or flow), the catchy The Blank Canvas Part 1 features guitarist James Muller and enhances the albums sense of journey and movement as we set out on our Fact Finding Mission with the trio. The delicate and captivating Lullaby, was written by Parker for his sons. The title track is the most abstract work on the album and utilizes samples, bowed distorted bass, a range of Chinese gongs and other sounds to achieve its chaotic effect. The second track on the album to be inspired by the band's children, the playful Song For EV, was written for Foran's daughter and has a delightful rhythmic suppleness. On Civil Unrest (featuring guitarist James Muller and percussionist Tunji Beier) angular melodies and abstract harmonies meld with spacious free improvisations. While The Brook is all about rhythm; contrasting the idea of a dark intense bass groove with a delicate sparse melody. The captivating, rhythmic The Blank Canvas Part 2 transports us through to the beautiful Brick By Brick, which features DVA (Tunji Beier on percussion and Linsey Pollak on reeds) and draws on Eastern European folk melodies alongside modern jazz harmonic movements and freely improvised elements. Pollak's reeds weave in and out of the trio sounds with Beier's percussion adding another layer of rhythmic complexity. Dense, but melodically clear, it's a beautiful closer to the album with its sense of melodic finality and earthy folk ideas. It's this blend of earthy rhythms, beautiful melodies and the freedom of jazz that makes Trichotomy's Fact Finding Mission so worth joining!

Sean Foran, piano
John Parker, drums & percussion
Pat Marchisella, double bass

Guest artists:
James Muller, guitar
Tunji Beier, percussion
Linsey Pollak, reeds

Produced by Trichotomy
Recorded by Chris Vallejo at Linear Recording Sydney July 16-20, 2012
Mixed by Chris Vallejo & John Parker at Linear Recording
Mastered by Dave Gardner at Magneto Mastering

TRICHOTOMY are one of Australia’s most inventive contemporary music ensembles. So much more than a traditional jazz trio, this group expands the capacities of the classic piano/ bass/drums combination with elements of the avant-garde and a fresh attitude they bring to their music. Truly captivating for a variety of audiences, TRICHOTOMY skillfully blend dense, exciting improvisations and delicate atmospherics, conjuring up sounds of modern jazz, ambient music, avant-garde rock, free improvisation and contemporary classical music.

Formed as ‘Misinterprotato’ in 1999 while studying at the Queensland Conservatorium, the group’s sound is driven by award winning pianist Sean Foran, teamed with John Parker’s expansive dynamic and timbral range on percussion and Patrick Marchisella’s visceral touch on the double bass.

After 2 acclaimed albums released in their native Australia, ”Variations” their third album, was released on the British NAIM label in 2010. It features a variety of melodic and rhythmic landscapes, with the relaxed structures of Foran and Parker’s intimate songwriting decorated by the group’s spontaneous musicality. The 'variations' come from the mood and texture created by the intuitive interplay between the three members of Trichotomy and the subtle balance between delicate textural explorations and vigorous driving pieces. They shift effortlessly from beautifully subtle ballads such as ‘Please’ and ‘Ascent’ to the densely ferocious ‘Chunk’ (where Marchisella's bass sounds more like a distorted electric guitar), ‘The Unknown’ whose disjointed rhythms sound completely natural, and ‘Variations on a bad day’ which moves from single piano notes to dense polyrhythmic phrases in a fraction of a second.

Inspired by a diverse range of influences from Aphex Twin to Vijay Iyer, and Tortoise to The Bad Plus, Trichotomy’s music combines a dense rhythmic focus with the melodic clarity of a Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau or Stravinsky and like fellow Australians The Necks, whom they cite as an early influence, there is a remarkable attention to detail and a desire to allow ideas to develop naturally within their music. A key focus is the balance between piano/bass/drums, with the trio maintaining a free flowing three way conversation with no one dominating and all contributing integral parts. Compositions often find a fine balance between heavily notated sections then completely free improvisations.

TRICHOTOMY have performed around Australia at the Wangaratta Jazz festival, Woodford Folk Festival and Melbourne International jazz Festival, Brisbane Jazz Festival, Valley Jazz Festival, and the Apollo Bay Festival, among others. Internationally the trio have also appeared at the Calgary International Jazz Festival Canada, the Kutchan Jazz Festival Japan, World Expo Japan and China, and toured Japan several times. In 2009 they were invited to showcase at the prestigious MIDEM music conference in Cannes, France and in 2010 toured the UK to wide critical acclaim.

In 2011 they release their new album “THE GENTLE WAR” on NAIM and follow this with a UK tour in February a performance at JAZZAHEAD Bremen in April & a Chinese tour in May.

This album contains no booklet.