Bruninghaus Trio

Press, 12 October 1985, Page 8

Bruninghaus Trio

The Rainer Bruninghaus Trio, presented by the Goethe Institute in association with the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and Jazz South, at the James Hay Theatre, Friday, October 11. Reviewed by Philip Norman. When high technical agility meets fluent improvisational ability, the musical sparks fly. Last evening’s concert by the West German modern jazz ensemble, the Rainer Bruninghaus Trio, presented some of the most exciting sounds to be heard in Christchurch for a while. Although billed a jazz group, the trio blends a melange of stylistic influences. The vocabulary of rock, folk, impressionism, traditional Indian, and contemporary classical are all successfully fused into one easily assimilated musical language. Esperanto rock would not be an inapropriate label for its appealing, worldly music. Rainer Bruninghaus,. ledger of the group andf wafriwer of the half-doze®'

extended pieces that comprised the programme, is a keyboard player of astonishing prowess. On both synthesiser and piano he has an uncanny knack of shaping lengthy improvisations into cogent musical paragraphs. The speed and clarity of his right-hand work and the total independence of his left are cause for envy. Highlight of his many solo spots was the dynamic piano interlude in “Raga Rag.” The percussionist of the group, Trilok Gurtu, is of Indian descent. Not only is he a virtuoso tabla player, capable of rapping out the most wily of cross-rhythms on those magical drums, he possesses a remarkable ear for textural and timbral colour. He addresses his battery of percussion instruments from a seated position on the floor. From there, he reaches about and draws a bewildering variety of sounds — from the tinkling of sleigh bells through the pounding of electronic

drums to the sonorous dunking of metal plates in a bucket of water. All this variety is deftly achieved, either with rhythmic precision or with faultless sensitivity to the musical texture.

Some of the nicest moments in the evening came from the imaginative rhythmic interplay between these percussion instruments, particularly the tabla, and the piano. The third member of the group is Hugo Reid, a lively reeds player with a special flair for the soprano saxophone. He is without a doubt a melodic musician, spinning finely crafted lines with an excellent sense of phrasing. His tasteful use of reverberation led to some of the most expressive thematic expositions of the evening. If there be one gripe with the group’s music, it is that it peaked in sound a few decibels above the limit for comfort. Music of this quality and craftsmanship should.be dependent of high volumB|not energy on impact