COLIN VALLON / PATRICE MORET / JULIAN SARTORIUS “Samares”

ARTIST

Colin Vallon / Patrice Moret / Julian Sartorius

ALBUM TITLE

“Samares”

LABEL

ECM

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Free and open music – democratic, and at times daring. The trio of Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret, and Julian Sartorius draws without hesitation on folk traditions, art rock aesthetics, and the history of modern jazz. In doing so, they stand firmly in the lineage of the white, Euro-cultured piano trio, ultimately indebted to Bill Evans. The emphasis is on the collective sound, with Vallon acting as primus inter pares. Together, the three musicians embody the Swiss nouvelle vague.

At 44, the pianist from Lausanne has been active for more than two decades. He first made his mark in 2004 with Les Ombres, his debut under his own name, recorded with Lorenz Beyeler and Raphaël Pedroli for Unit Records. From that point, Vallon’s career as a leader took flight, culminating in his signing with ECM, where he has since released a sequence of trio albums: Rruga (2011), Le vent (2014, already with Moret and Sartorius), and Danse (2017). The Munich label also documented his collaborations with Albanian-born, Swiss-based vocalist Elina Duni, and with saxophonist and clarinetist Nicolas Masson, another prominent figure on the Swiss scene. While Vallon has been active in multiple settings – from solo work to projects with trumpeter Matthieu Michel and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Jorge Rossy – his most natural creative dimension remains the piano–bass–drums trio.

As the composer of all the pieces on Samares, Vallon approaches the trio less as a soloist to be accompanied and more as a director shaping a collective sound. His concern lies with atmosphere, harmonic texture, groove, and the blending of voices rather than individual display. Track titles such as Racine (“root”) and Brin (“blade of grass”) underscore the music’s organic inspiration. What emerges is a sound world that is introverted at times, dreamlike or dramatic at others, and often lyrical – the hallmark of a balanced, fascinating work.

—Ivo Franchi

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