
Phronesis are a jazz trio built around Danish bassist Jasper Hoiby's sinewy phrasing and huge tone, and encircled by fluent British pianist Ivo Neame and Swedish drummer Anton Eger's eerie, birds'-wings sound. This edited live album features heated climaxes in which Eger's remarkable drumming is goaded by repeating hooks and bass vamps bring the house down on several tracks, but the buildups are just as absorbing – see Hoiby's downward- twisting bassline as Neame and Eger share percussive roles on the serpentine Urban Control, or the cello-like bowed intros and unhurried conversations on Phratenal and Wings 2 the Mind, the cat-and-mouse darts and feints of Nine Lives, the whirling dance of Herne Hill, and the transformation of Dr Black from a solemn folk melody to an ecstatic, audience-baiting thrash. A live album is exactly just the way to get the current Phronesis message across, and this is a powerful one.
