From the first notes… you are instantly transported to distant lands, wrapped in a sound world that is both unfamiliar and intriguing

Chou de Bruxelles: Chou 2603

Yamen Martini (trumpet, flugelhorn, drums); Piet Maris (accordion); Otto Kint (upright bass)

Recorded at Studio Zinnemann, Anderlecht, Belgium

From the first notes of 3’ain’s new album you are instantly transported to distant lands, wrapped in a sound world that is both unfamiliar and intriguing. For this is another helping of a world jazz project that mixes in folk and Arabic influences from South West Asia and North Africa, picking up right where the trio’s 2023 release ‘Sea of Stories’ left off.

The trio takes its name from the 18th letter of the Arabic alphabet ‘ﻉ‎’: a vowel that is difficult to pronounce for Western people and is substituted by the digit ‘3’ in Arabic SMS messaging, transliterating as ‘ain.

On first hearing, the album feels more world than jazz, drawing upon traditional Arabic song structures with a relaxed, steady pace that eases you in. But with subsequent listens you pick up jazz-infused flavours across a chamber jazz vibe where none of the artists is lost in the mix. Constructed meticulously with evolving textures, there is a sense that if untethered by the restrictions of recording conventions, these compositions could just keep on rolling, taking you with them.

Aleppo-born Yamen Martini is central to the sound, bending his calling trumpet and flugelhorn notes to evoke a vivid, faraway sense of place. Piet Maris’ accordion is used in a variety of ways: in building and colouring textures; in creating drone effects to evoke atmosphere and mood; and as a lead instrument, able to switch effortlessly from South West Asian and North African folk themes to European and back again. Otto Kint’s strong resonant bass sounds though it all, providing signposted jazz hooks and contributing low-pitch drawn effects, particularly impactful when combined with Maris’ accordion.

The album title ‘Unland’ is suggestive of land dispossessed or of the act of dispossession, carrying deep social resonance and political meaning in the modern world. The trio also cite their local surroundings and environment around the port of Ostend, where they often work, as an inspiration.

The opener ‘Nachtschade’ neatly sets out the trio’s stall with Martini’s undulating trumpet sounding over a steady bassline and later drum beats (Martini also plays drums), shot through with a stately, weaving melody developed by Maris and picked up by Martini. ‘Staketsel’, a Dutch term for wooden fence or pier, sets up a livelier bassline and a more blues-driven feel, picked up on accordion and trumpet, complete with wah-wahed mute effects.

The single ‘Oufti’ is an intricate piece with Maris’ accordion positioned more centrally and taking on growing European flavours and themes, with Martini’s sound also evolving, picking up ascending notes that build. These flavours are developed further on ‘Zink’, where together Maris and Kint repeat a simple riff, over which Martini takes a flighted line with broiling textures simmering beneath. And with ‘On Shore’, where Kint’s deep sounded bass notes and later drawn notes bring rhythm and drama, around which Martini and Maris outline a stately folk theme, working around each other in an hypnotic dance.

To close, the complex and rewarding ‘Batich Ahmar’ builds atmosphere and texture through Maris’ upper register notes sounding over Kint’s gently rumbling bass from which improvised images emerge painted by each of the three artists.

There is a consistency of tone and mood throughout this album which leaves the listener highly receptive to the shifting interplay at work. You cannot help wondering what the trio could do if they really let loose, but that is probably missing the point. We have here a fascinating album that approaches improvisation from a refreshing and distinct perspective, and that is most welcome.