AGRAKAL

AGRAKAL documents a trio of three Mediterranean improvisers: Italian (Roman) reeds player Marco Colonna on clarinet and baritone saxophone, Catalan pianist Agustí Fernández, and Slovenian drummer-percussionist Zlatko Kaučič. Though the three had played together in various pairings before, this was their first performance as a trio — recorded live at the Novara Jazz Festival in Italy on December 2, 2017. The album was released by the Polish label Not Two in 2018.

Fernández functions as the pivot of the group, having previously recorded and toured in duo with both partners: with Colonna on Desmadre (Fonterossa, 2014) and the live Birth of Shapes (2016), and with Kaučič on the duo Sonic Poetry (Not Two, 2014), as well as in a trio with Evan Parker. Colonna had also recorded with Kaučič and bassist Giovanni Maier on Impressioni Astratte (2016).

The music is fully improvised collective free jazz, ranging from dense, high-intensity culminations to playful rhythmic games and quieter, lyrical textures. Colonna's reed work has been compared to Eric Dolphy; Fernández moves between virtuosic keyboard runs and inside-the-piano techniques; and Kaučič colors the interplay with percussion and, at points, electronics.