Based in Frankfurt, the Lars Pagelsen Trio proudly utilizes an attitude they refer to as “mindful jazz” — focusing on silence and presence, rather than particular stylistic classifications. Their compelling new single “Don’t You Cry” embodies this well, embracing a spacious, “vocal-like” melody that resembles a welcoming embrace — rather than focusing on the sometimes daunting, overly technical nature of some jazz. The work of pianist Lars Pagelsen, bassist Alisa Pou Montz, and drummer Felix Lothwesen captivates throughout the track, resulting in a wholly memorable soundscape and evolving structural whimsy.
The track’s book-ends convey an elegant mystique, its introduction dazzling as trickles of piano and hints of percussion maneuver with atmospheric spaciousness across the first minute. Serene, jazzy percussion is fully incorporated thereafter, as soothing bass and gentle drums assemble seamlessly alongside the tasteful piano work. The percussion struts a pulsing quality approaching the three-minute mark, while the piano and bass flourish with magnetic, melodic interplay.
An invitingly spacious midpoint stirs in its bass-fronted allure, with sporadic uses of piano and percussion bolstering the artful sense of momentum. The beautiful, hazy bass and intermittent piano develop throughout an intoxicating final couple of minutes, culminating in the lulling finality of solemn piano and crashing percussion. “Don’t You Cry” is an enveloping, atmospheric success from Lars Pagelsen Trio.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
