German-American pianist Benjamin Lackner released several albums with his long-standing triobefore making his ECM debut in 2022 with Last Decade. On the album, the Berlin-based pianist is joined by fellow ECM recording artists Mathias Eick and Manu Katché as well as bassist Jérome Regard. It received much critical acclaim upon its release with Stereophile magazine saying “ECM released some fine albums in 2022, but few are more beautiful”. In the Swiss weekly magazine Weltwoche, Peter Rüedi called Lackner’s music “a type of classical music”, praising it as a “masterpiece which, in an almost hypnotic melodic maelstrom of eight original Lackner compositions, dispenses with all soloistic ‘flamboyance’ and spectacular artistry in favour of a highly integrated sound and intimate exchange of ideas.”
New Album on ECM : ‘“Spindrift”. Back with a newly formed quintet, gathered together for a
particularly fruitful 2024 session in Southern France, the German pianist Benjamin Lackner
presents a different and exciting side of his composer-approach. Trumpeter Mathias Eick is the sole returnee from Lackner’s debut Last Decade, and can be heard in striking dualism with Mark Turner’s idiosyncratic saxophone dialect, forming a key-characteristic of the interplay that permeates Spindrift. The horn-duo and pianist are joined by the nonpareil bassist Linda May Han Oh and French drummer Matthieu Chazarenc, who was part of Lackner’s trio before the pianist’s tenure with ECM. Subtle fanfares meet contemplative lyricism in a programme of originals that always puts melody and ensemble chemistry first. Saxophone and trumpet take the lead, forming their own little ensemble section, and contribute elegantly interwoven lines and striking solos to an especially harmonious group sound and a tuneful set of songs. The album was produced by Manfred Eicher.
“A prolific writer he works hard to sift his tunes. Nine made the cut from 100 for the new Album Spindrift and were then carefully arranged for a select quintet featuring Mark Turner and Mathias Eick on the frontline. The interplay is simply beautiful, each compact song distilled to a totally absorbing quintessentially ECM essence.” – BBC Music Magazine
“This is a killer band playing Lackner’s compositions with grace and exceptionally lovely pace. The title tune kicks off the recording with Turner’s brooding tone creating a noir-ish mood before Lackner’s solo flight lifts the tune with clusters of runs; Lackner hands the solo back to Turner, who matches the pianist’s intensity. “Mosquito Flats” introduces Eick to the proceedings. It’s a joy to hear this tenor/trumpet combo, and, again, Lackner demonstrates control and grace on the piano.” – 4 Stars, Downbeat Magazin
“Lackner’s playing, dependably delicate, tastefully understated, floats over clouds of time, letting silences speak, contributing to the album’s overarching air of gentle melancholy.”-The New York City Jazz Record
“German pianist and former Brad Mehldau student Benjamin Lackner adds American A-listers Mark Turner (tenor sax) and Linda May Han Oh (bass) to familiar partners in trumpeter Mathias Eick and drummer Matthieu Chazarenc on Spindrift (ECM). Breathily wistful, bass-embroidered film-noirish melodies mingle with headlong tenor/trumpet contrapuntal passages, and sleek and sparing piano improv.”
– The Guardian
“Even though Turner is American, he long ago broke ranks with post Coltrane/Brecker school characterised by Chris Potter, with a left of field approach originally characterised by Warne Marsh. From this foundation he has built a more personal approach which Lackner allows to shine. Although Eick has had his more rowdy moments with Jaga Jazzist and Motorpsycho, he is an admirer of Kenny Wheeler’s highly original and occasionally oblique lyricism that colours a reflective and expressively deep style. Linda May Han Oh is an exceptional bassist whose vibrancy is a key component of this band. All in all Lackner, on the evidence of Spindrift, has created an ensemble of great potential.” – Jazzwise
“Breathily wistful, bass-embroidered film-noirish melodies mingle with headlong tenor/trumpet contrapuntal passages, and sleek and sparing piano improv.” – The Guardian
“With Spindrift, Benjamin Lackner has not just made an excellent album but also a major personal statement that speaks volumes for him as a composer and orchestrator for jazz quintet.”
– Jazzviews.net
“The brevity of the tracks means that the elegant melodic ideas are not stretched beyond their limits and consequently have a satisfying wholeness. Lackner invests a great deal in Turner and Eick, their compatibility is at the heart of the music. The pleasure—and it is considerable—that can be gained from this music emanates from Lackner’s writing as it explores the inherent lyricism of Turner and Eick with their complementary approaches. The writing softens the gap between the written notes and the improvisation so that it is often difficult to ascertain where one shades into the other. The solos rise completely naturally out of the writing. There is a shared vision of restrained
music, rising and flowing with fluent grace. This is a jazz equivalent of chamber music. […] The recording at La Buissonne Studios at Pernes les Fontaines has the stillness, depth and clarity that this music needs.” – All About Jazz
“There is a synergy in these performances that manifests itself in different ways. Firstly, there is there the empathetic relationship between the two horns whose different yet equally distinctive voices blend together so seamlessly; an ensemble in their own right if you will. Then there is the synergy between the dualism of tenor and trumpet and the rhythm section with the interweaving of musical ideas that can dart between the two entities at will. […] With ‘Spindrift’, Benjamin Lackner has not just made an excellent album but also a major personal statement that speaks volumes for him as a composer and orchestrator for jazz quintet.” – Jazz Views
“The Tunes are very melodic and the album is extremely accessible in a taut rather than indulgently laidback softly melancholic way. Lackner doesn’t showboat at all in his soloing and is very less is more. […] You could call it dreamjazz if you like to use a term coined by the critic Paul Morley when the much missed ‘Observer Music Monthly’ was around which is as good a description as any. It’s essentially acoustic chamber jazz that does not ramp up to the tempo of anything approaching a frenetic pace and is about the mysterious often conflicting interiors of emotion radical somehow in its verisimilitude.”
– Marlbank
“One of the most beautiful, almost haunting tracks here is the wonderful “See You Again My
Friend” which boasts a gorgeous melody. But the spaciousness is there from the start, restraint where you don’t expect it, like on the opening title track and the follow-up “Mosquito Flats”. On the latter, there is a longer piano stretch where you can actually hear Benjamin in a somewhat insouciant manner. And that’s the beauty of this record: even though it seems that most of the pieces here belong to an elegiac or plaintive style, there is always this sense of awakening, of departure.” – Gina Loves Jazz
“Benjamin Lackner’s second release for ECM is a sumptuous recording, with a mature nature that compels and bewitches. An enchanting album to fully immerse oneself into. Throughout the tracks presented here, an expressive openness meets a thoughtful and contemplative lyricism in a programme that always puts melody and ensemble chemistry first.” – UK Vibe
“When I was 12, I was listening to Oscar Peterson’s Night Train, which is very joyous: his swing feel and command of the piano – unbelievable. But it’s a language that sounds…‘worked out’. By the time I was 15, I was becoming really turned off by pattern-oriented piano playing. Keith Jarrett, though he has the bebop language and the tradition, always has the lyrical freedom within the phrasing. Even at a young age, I think I subconsciously understood that – because it was joyful like Oscar Peterson, but didn’t seem rigid. The fact that he sings along showed me that he was hearing each single note he was playing. Every single intro is just mind-boggling; and the vibrancy… You could tell that the rhythm section were completely in tune, 100 per cent of every second – there’s no auto-pilot. To this day, that’s what I search for in other musicians. Richard talked about how much freedom Keith Jarrett had on ECM, and I knew that’s where I wanted to
be.” – Jazzwise
“Benjamin Lackner has a vision and his album is a coherent statement of his ideas: a radical
statement of lyricism, gentleness, restraint and understatement.” – Allaboutjazz.com
“Lackner’s compositions are precisely mapped out, becoming quietly enveloping and lavishly unhurried, yet never elevated to exalted heights. There are moments of radiant beauty, like the title track, “Spindrift”, which transitions from a rubato meditation to a 7/4 rhythmic flow over which Lackner and Turner stretch out in a sheer display of finesse and delicacy.” – Jazztrail.net
“It is hard not to be captivated by the flow of sound that envelops and caresses the listener with its soft, captivating tones. Lackner leads with a sure hand, limiting his solo interventions to act mainly as a cohesive element of the group’s music. The two wind instruments are left to expound the themes, sometimes after a piano introduction, often in dialogue with each other or supporting each other in a reciprocal countermelody.(…) All in all a very successful album like its predecessor, and definitely recommendable not only to lovers of the ECM sound. “- All About Jazz
“With one foot in Germany and the other in the USA, pianist Benjamin Lackner returns to the prestigious record label ECM for the follow-up album “Spindrift.” In the two years since his last release, Lackner has written 100 songs, with those on the current album being the ones that survived the selection process. At the center are trumpeter Mathias Eick and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, each expressing different facets of Lackner’s compositions, supported by Lackner himself, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Mathieu Chazarenc. In the typical ECM fashion, the expressions are finely crafted, and the sound is of absolute top quality.”– HIFI MUSIK
“Pianist Benjamen Lackner brings in Mathias Eick/tp, Mark Turner/ts, Linda May Han Oh/b and Matthieu Chazarenc/dr for soft and simmering originals. Turner is particularly subdued her, fluffy on “Spindrift” and elegiac with Lackner during “Chambreay”, with the two horns hinting at Miles Davis’ Nefertiti period on the dreamy “See You Again My Friend” and lyrical on “Anacapa” while brooding on “Ahwahnee” subdued tones.”
– Jazzweekly
“The set of exquisite tone poems found on pianist and composer Benjamin Lackner’s album
Spindrift create pastel colors and the hazy ambience of autumn in a cloud-shrouded forest. The subtle lines and development that give life to this introspective outing can be found in the soft, poignant, and graceful readings of Lackner, trumpeter Mathias Eick and tenor sax player Mark Turner. And the sympathetic rhythm section of bassistLinda May Han Oh and drummer Matthieu Chazarenc provide a solid yet buoyant bottom. The effect – a respite from the turbulence and combustion of an unsettled world. That said, one can also think of Spindrift as a warm blanket on cold early morning – a set of tunes you can wrap around yourself, alone in thought, drinking chamomile tea with just the right amount of honey to sweeten the taste, readying oneself to face the coming day. Enjoy. – Freejazzblog
“We knew him as Benny. Now he is — officially, at least — Benjamin. Lackner, that is, Berlin-born and now-based, but who spent many formative wonder years growing up in Santa Barbara, the son of established theater artists Peter and Barbara. By whatever name, Lackner is a deeply lyrical and inspired jazz pianist-composer whose refined musical voice and vision has now been documented on two memorable albums for the mighty ECM label.His recently released album Spindrift, a follow-up to 2022’s Last Decade, is an often meditative-but-never-idle and richly detailed pleasure to behold. Joining him this time is a subtle and potent two-horn front line, with Norwegian melodist Mathias Eick returning from the earlier album, joined by the remarkable “musician’s musician” tenor saxist Mark Turner, with bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Matthieu Chazarenc, from Lackner’s own steady trio. As such, this Lackner is a rare Santa Barbaran making very good on
jazz’s world stage. (Incidental note: he shares the ECM stable status with current Santa Barbaran Charles Lloyd, who recorded for the German label for many years). Although Lackner belongs in the ranks of worldly jazz musicians, especially in the more introspective and Euro-centric realm which ECM has made one of its signature harvests, we might tend to cling to Santa Barbara connections.”– On the Beat
“It is not absolutely necessary to relish the crime fiction of Raymond Chandler to enjoy Spindrift, but it certainly helps. As saxophonist Mark Turner’s horn lines drift upward and waft around, the sounds of the ten tracks including “See You Again My Friend” conjure images of deserted streets between midnight and dawn. Such a vivid atmosphere further coalesces from the relaxed but pointed interplay of this quintet, so while “See You Again” and “Fair Warning” most directly evoke the noir drama of the aforementioned prose style, the music is as immersive as such prose at its best. In practical terms too, playing the former might well be ideal background for reading the latter. But especially as Mathias Eick’s trumpet pairs with the aforementioned horn-man during “Out Of The Fog,” the Lackner quintet’s efforts stand as distinct on their own terms. “– All About Jazz
”After leaving a sizable footprint in ECM soil with Last Decade, pianist Benjamin Lackner takes us one step further with a fresh quintet, bringing us closer to a vision of identity. Although the music is more through-composed in the present context, it lends itself to the spontaneous inventions of trumpeter Mathias Eick, saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Matthieu Chazarenc (a member of Lackner’s trio prior to ECM). From all of this emerges a moving picture that is equal parts brooding and hope.”– Between Sound and Space
“Pianist and composer Benjamin Lackner is back with a romantic collection of jazz songs recorded in the south of France. Lackner departs from his go-to trio lineup for Spindrift, the follow-up to 2022’s Last Decade, and turns to saxophonist Mark Turner and trumpeter Mathias Eick for prominently featured—but still delicate—horns, along with nonpareil bassist Linda May Han Oh and French drummer Matthieu Chazarenc. The four of them melt seamlessly into the German pianist’s songs, especially on singles “More Mesa” and “See You Again My Friend.” – Pitchfork
