HOPKINS DISARIO COLLINGS

Like so many in Melbourne’s thriving contemporary jazz scene, Frank DiSario and Phil Collings can be found playing in different bands with different people almost every other week. For this latest project DiSario and Collings find themselves exploring the acoustic piano trio format with Melbourne pianist and ceramicist Colin Hopkins. The original recordings were made in 2011 but this album Borrowed Time has only recently been released through new label Crackbell Records (crackbellrecords.com), co-directed by Collings and Hopkins. As we’ve come to expect from each of these players, the focus is on musical space and a shared experience rather than on individual jazz chops. What makes this album work so well is the relationship between the rhythm section’s energetic and inventive backbone with the near-classicism of Colin Hopkins’ subtle but assured piano playing. This is never more apparent than on the Radiohead cover ‘No Surprises’ – just in case we needed read more...