(Ism) Maua

UK music genius Pat Thomas, delivers a new true gem, this time with his project ISM, a classic avant piano trio also featuring Joel Grip on bass and Antonin Gerbal on drums. This recording was captured at the Berlin club Au Topsi Pohl where ISM played four nights in a row, from May 18th to 21st, 2022. For the concerts a Bösendorfer grand piano was brought to the small club—the trio barely fit on stage, but the acoustic sound, all the more omnipresent and precise, was embraced by a highly crafted and risky playing evoking notions of dreams, form, and human vibrations. This is one of those special occasions where skills meet poetry. During the last night of the four-night series of concerts in the tiny German club, the music developed into a magic combination of highly developed improvisational skills wrapped in a particularly inspirational and adventurous atmosphere, gifting the trio the chance to create the album ‘Maua’, which means flowers in Swahili. A true statement in experimental jazz paying tribute to the history of this music but very much actual and projected into the future of the art form. Pat Thomas, is one of the main artists featured on the 577 Records’ catalog, proving once again his intellectual and artistic ability to shine in every context from classic avant jazz, all the way to experimental electronics. Edition of 300 copies.