Eastside’s album for December 2010
An Accumulation of Subtleties – Mike Nock Trio
‘An Accumulation of Subtleties’ finds Nock in the company of a relatively new trio, with brothers Ben (bass) and James Waples (drums) demonstrating the kind of empathy only possible through sibling familiarity.
With one disc of largely free improvisations recorded in the summer of 2008 at the Sydney Opera House Studio, and a second culled from a weekend performance at the Sound Lounge in Sydney a couple months later, one set may focus predominantly on pulling music out of the ether while the other is about expanding on preconceived form. Both, however, are about the magic of spontaneity, and the sound of surprise which comes from constantly honed chemistry.
‘The finger-snapping blues of Gigi Gryce‘s “House of Blue Lights” and a viscerally swinging version of Billy Reid’s “The Gypsy” demonstrate the trio’s acumen with the standards repertoire. That Nock hasn’t enjoyed the same celebrity as pianists like Keith Jarrett is more a matter of geography than talent. With An Accumulation of Subtleties, Nock returns to the trio format for one of his most open-ended and immediate albums of joyous abandon, introducing a new line-up that’s already delivering, but promises even greater things to come.’ – John Kelman
To find out more go to https://www.mikenock.com/