FMQ - Two and one does make sense

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The semantic clash of the two words in the title Both Only is a thought-provoking way into consistently stimulating music. If there is indeed some kind of translation into sound, then the sense of simmering tension and fraught atmosphere are obvious signposts. However, the gentle structural drifts that make this album generate more light than heat are no less important, confirming the chemistry between pianist-leader Joona Toivanen, his brother, double bassist Tapani Toivanen, and drummer Olavi Louhivuori.

The trio has long been a favored format for advanced, reflexive exchange between musicians, exerting a fascination on a wide variety of incumbents. Some opt for ‘tunes,’ while others explore the tone poetry and playful whimsies of meter that may be easier to pull off in a small unit. On its 2000 debut Numurkah, the trio showed compelling technical prowess, but it has now matured to the extent that it can plumb emotional depths through distilled, sketch-like composition and concise improvisation.

Joona Toivanen often pares his action down to understated rippling motifs, almost like a steady flow of water with slight increases of pressure. Meanwhile, Louhivuori takes center stage, producing a range of off-ramp patterns that skip teasingly under the dark floating clouds of Tapani Toivanen’s bass. The astute blend of motion and stillness, as if the trio had woven the vocabulary of ambient electronica into the lexicon of acoustic jazz, lends many of the songs an intriguing sense of meditation-disruption.

Nowhere is this more effective than on Acceptance, which pits a gently rolling piano theme against an aggressively tetchy backbeat whose shifts of center suggest the resistance an individual must overcome to achieve the resolution of the title. Several other songs also make statements that could be clear yet remain invitingly open-ended. Acceptance of what or whom? Both are possible. Only whosoever listens can decide.