The piano trio is a pivotal modern jazz form, and has evolved into many well-established forms over the years. Just as we have come to know what to expect from albums with titles like We Get Requests from Oscar Peterson, or Soul Time from Bobby Timmons, so we can be fairly sure of what awaits when we put on an album entitled Nordic Trilogy.

This release forms the final part of a set of recordings issued by drummer/composer/bandleader Daniel Sommer and delivers on every level. Track titles such as ‘Silent Steps’, ‘Skärgårdsklubben at 6 AM’ and ‘Forgotten Song’ prepare us for these poised, introverted meditations from the superbly empathetic ensemble.

Sommer himself is a master of textural exploration at the kit, Rönkä’s bass is beautifully deep and rich toned, often taking centre stage, and Thommy Andersson provides soft, ambiguous chording and splinters of melody that interweave with the other two player’s contributions. The pulse is beautifully measured, sometimes rising in intensity as in ‘Den Ensommes Dans’ into the most refined of funk, sometimes crumbling away into free time as in ‘Coffee And Grapefruit’. The mood is consistently spectral and haunting, sometimes evoking the grandiose landscape of fjord and scree, sometimes the intimacy of a hushed stripped-pine interior - on ‘Un Canope Englouti’ they attain such heights of subtlety that they almost melt away altogether. Fans of the genre should check this out immediately.