🎧 歌曲：Let It Die, Emma’s Song – Benny Lackner Trio
📀 专辑：《Pilgrim》（2008）
🎵歌手个人网页：https://www.bennylackner.com/home#vanguard-set
专辑点评 – by Michael J. West from AllAboutJazz
The rock-ish but very adult Pilgrim is a cautionary example of why detail is important in jazz. On a cursory listen, the Benny Lackner Trio sounds like a Bad Plus imitator: the rock influence is heavy, pianist Lackner shares Ethan Iverson’s harmonic trajectory and heavy touch, and drummer Robert Perkins’ sound is superficially like Dave King’s bash-and-crash. What’s more, the fifth track is titled “Brad Plus,” a dead giveaway if ever there was one. That first impression is illusory. Deeper exploration reveals that Pilgrim, a contemplative project in many moods, is also quietly visionary.
The sensitivity with which the group imbues the music is immediately apparent. There are no fast pieces on Pilgrim, although the groove in “K.W.S. Nightmare” is pretty close. Instead, all are slow-to-medium in tempo, walking (not swinging) in rhythm, and reflective in temperament. They also have an edge of darkness creeping in, often represented by ominous minor chords. But it’s for moodiness rather than disturbance, and it’s held in abeyance by expressive but cerebral lines from the musicians. The title track and “Blind” are particularly stunning, the former’s melody as insistent as a nagging memory and the latter’s with both the consolation and pangs of some evening’s bittersweet aftermath.
But subtlety marks the trio’s approach. Bassist Derek Nievergelt is elusive throughout Pilgrim—no small trick for a three-man band. Nievergelt’s playing depends on marvelous sustains and rubbery glissandi that are concentrated in his instrument’s lowest register. It allows him to slip easily into Lackner’s left-hand comps and Perkins’ accents, but also provides a thick-if-invisible mortar for the structures of tracks like “Transkei” and “Beyond.”
The other two musicians are equally subtle, if more noticeable. Lackner’s similarities to Iverson remain undeniable, but so does his lyricism and genuine soul. His work on the gentle “Let It Die” draws equally on inspirational gospel and the 1970s singer-songwriters. Perkins plays accents that make him sound noisier than he actually is—if anything, he’s the most sophisticated colorist in the group, with his hand percussion, shimmery cymbals, and hints of electronic rhythm (sometimes, as on the opening “Mowgla,” he uses all three). In fact, all three players use electronics, one of their most idiosyncratic and effective components. Again these are employed with great discretion, as in the bleeping background on the title track and faint keyboard counterpoints on “I Never.” With these little touches, the group shows they understand that they need only create an atmosphere, not a hurricane.
Their identification as a leaderless collective seems disingenuous; there is, after all, only one member mentioned in the band name. But the Benny Lackner Trio leaves no doubt that all three lend their visions to the crafting of the longing, wistful music on Pilgrim. If the group betrays the influence of the “It” piano trio of the 2000s, that’s perhaps inevitable; still, it doesn’t stop Pilgrim from being intensely individual or personal music. The emotional heft makes it a moving experience, but the painstakingly embedded details demonstrate its considerable art.
(《朝圣者》（Pilgrim） 这张专辑摇滚味十足，却又极具成熟韵味，堪称爵士乐中细节至关重要的一个警示。初听之下，本尼·拉克纳三重奏（Benny Lackner Trio）听起来像是Bad Plus的模仿者：摇滚元素浓重，钢琴家拉克纳的和声走向和厚重的触键都与伊桑·艾弗森（Ethan Iverson）如出一辙，鼓手罗伯特·珀金斯（Robert Perkins）的鼓点也与戴夫·金（Dave King）的猛烈敲击颇为相似。更甚者，第五首曲目名为“Brad Plus”，这无疑是一个明显的暗示。然而，第一印象只是错觉。深入聆听后，你会发现《朝圣者》这张专辑——一张充满沉思、风格多样的作品——同时也蕴含着一种静谧的远见卓识。
乐队赋予音乐的细腻情感显而易见。 《朝圣者》（Pilgrim）这张专辑里没有快节奏的曲目，尽管《KWS噩梦》（KWS Nightmare）的律动也相当接近快节奏。相反，所有曲目的节奏都偏慢或中等，韵律流畅（而非摇摆），情绪内敛沉思。其中还隐隐透着一丝阴郁，通常以不祥的小调和弦来表现。但这并非为了制造不安，而是为了营造一种忧郁的氛围，并被乐手们富有表现力却又深邃的演奏所巧妙地控制着。同名曲《朝圣者》和《盲目》（Blind）尤其令人惊艳，前者的旋律如同挥之不去的记忆般萦绕心头，后者则饱含着某个夜晚苦乐参半的余韵，既有慰藉，又有刺痛。
但三人组的演奏风格以微妙著称。贝斯手德里克·尼弗格尔特在整张专辑《朝圣者》（Pilgrim ）中都表现得若隐若现——对于一支三人乐队来说，这绝非易事。尼弗格尔特的演奏依赖于他那美妙的延音和富有弹性的滑音，这些都集中在贝斯的低音区。这使他能够轻松地融入拉克纳的左手伴奏和珀金斯的重音，同时也为《特兰斯凯》（Transkei）和《超越》（Beyond）等曲目的结构提供了厚实却又无形的粘合剂。
另外两位乐手同样细腻，但更引人注目。拉克纳与艾弗森的相似之处毋庸置疑，但他的抒情性和真挚的灵魂也同样突出。他在柔美的《Let It Die》中的演绎，既汲取了福音音乐的灵感，又融合了20世纪70年代创作歌手的风格。珀金斯的演奏方式略带夸张，听起来比实际音量更大——如果非要说谁是乐队成员，那非他莫属。他运用手鼓、闪亮的镲片以及电子节奏的点缀（有时，例如在开场曲《Mowgla》中，他会同时使用这三种元素）。事实上，三位乐手都运用了电子乐器，这是他们最具特色也最有效的元素之一。他们再次巧妙地运用了这些乐器，例如在同名曲目中略带电子音效的背景音，以及在《I Never》中轻柔的键盘对位。正是这些细微之处，展现了乐队的精妙之处：他们只需营造氛围，而非掀起狂风暴雨。
他们自诩为无领导团体似乎有些虚伪；毕竟，乐队名称中只提到了一位成员。但本尼·拉克纳三重奏毫不掩饰地展现了三位成员各自的音乐理念，共同打造了《朝圣者》（Pilgrim ）这张充满渴望与淡淡忧伤的专辑。如果说这支乐队带有2000年代“It”钢琴三重奏的影响，或许难以避免；但这丝毫不影响《朝圣者》成为一张极具个性和个人风格的专辑。专辑饱含的情感力量令人动容，而精心雕琢的细节则展现了其卓越的艺术水准。)
