Friday, March 18, 2016
Momentum is a jazz trio from Estonia. Peedu ‘The Cat’ Kass is the leader, the bass player and the composer of the majority of the original pieces they perform. His sidesmen are Kristjan Randalu, the internationally renowned jazz pianist, with Toomas Rull on drums, one of the most sought after percussionists in Estonia, who has played on more than 100 recordings.
They were invited to come to Montreal to play at the l’Astral venue as part of the Jazz en Rafale series, run by the Montreal International Jazz Festival. This venue offers intimacy with optimum sightlines and has an exceptional acoustic conception and design. Every little musical detail is distinctly audible.
What is interesting about this trio is that they only play together a handful of times each year, having very separate careers outside of the group.
Nevertheless, Momentum is clearly a power trio, with each musician displaying total control over their instrument. Not only was the music tastefully performed and elegant, it was demonstrative of an extremely tight interplay of very complex and adventurous rhythms, with plentiful emphases on innovative and exuberant melodic subtleties.
It was very evident that they placed a great deal of importance on musicality and not just playing that was based purely on flashy technique … although there was an abundance of that as well.
Clearly they deserved to be the featured performers that evening.
Karl J. Raudsepp
