Frank Gratkowski - Drift (2019)

A Czech, two Norwegians and a strong shot unpredictable in the melting pot, is another exciting release from the Slovak house Hevhetia, which has practically never disappointed in jazz. KIAP released their debut album not so long ago, but meanwhile (only temporarily?) Have been reinforced by the German wind musician Frank Gratkowski, some of whom may already have heard with his own quartet.

However, the strippers still pull guitarist Magnus Jønnum Grimnes (perhaps familiar for his duo project Gùo), who actually feels stylistically comfortable between gypsy jazz and thrash metal, and drummer Magnus Sefaniassen Eide (including Audun Trio, Prime Time Orchestra), where saxophonist Michal Wróblewski on "drift", however, remains in the foreground than even on the self-titled debut of the formation.

That's probably because he's in the same family of instruments as KIAP's current guest musician. Gratkowski and Wróblewski play in the course of the noticeable equal parts improvised and composed pieces on "drift" melodic balls whose lyrical expressiveness unfolds subtly.

Therefore, the album superficially sounds in the best sense unobtrusive, but you can be ensnared by the swirling tone sequences, their pull inevitably pulls with - to exclude even the omnipresent riffs and licks of the lead six-string, that one at a given time inattentive.