Dominic J. Marshall Trio – Icaros
(F-IRE CD 62. CD Review By Chris Parker)

‘Icaros’ are, according to pianist/composer Dominic J. Marshall, ‘songs […] learned directly from plant spirits and/or received in dreams’ by shamans from South American rainforest tribes, and there is indeed a direct, vibrant spontaneity characterising the ten pieces he has composed for this, the second trio album released under his name (he has also issued, while he was studying at Leeds College of Music, a trio album under the name Tyratarantis).

Icaros features a different bass/drums pairing from the one on Marshall’s debut (The Oneness, reviewed elsewhere on this site), Tobias Nijboer and Kaspars Kurdeko respectively, and they bring a crisp, rattling, street-smart propulsiveness to his music, particularly to his trademark fiercely dramatic, tumultuous pieces featuring cascading, often downright grandiloquent piano.

There are also, of course, quieter moments in this rich and varied set, but at whatever tempo they set for themselves, the trio imbue their playing with all the inspired, fiercely interactive energy suggested by the album’s title, and Icaros should be investigated by all those listeners already drawn to contemporary jazz-piano-trio music by the likes of Kit Downes, Curios, Alex Hutton et al.