Phronesis

Recorded over two nights at the Forge Arts Venue in London, ‘Alive’ beautifully captures the exhilarating shared adventure of Phronesis’ live performances. In Høiby’s words, ‘This is what I love about playing live, there’s a real edge and freshness that excites me’.

Flawless in execution, and driven by some of the most infectious and compelling music written in recent years, ‘Alive’ demonstrates an openness that is not always achievable in a studio setting. It is this telepathic empathy between the players and their collective desire to take the music in new directions that prompted Jon Newey (Editor of Jazzwise Magazine), to describe them in live performance as “the most exciting and imaginative piano trio since EST”.

Joining Høiby are two highly original and imaginative musicians. Ivo Neame has already demonstrated his ability as a pianist, bandleader and composer on his own highly acclaimed release ‘Caught in the Light of Day’. With Phronesis he excels, adding extraordinarily lyrical and expansive melodies over the rhythmically complex, groove-driven bass lines. Høiby turned the unavoidable circumstances which led to his regular drummer Anton Eger being unable to perform on the Forge dates, into a positive, by inviting USA drummer Mark Guiliana (Avishai Cohen/Meshell Ndegeocello) to record with the trio. As Høiby explains, ‘I knew that if any other drummer in the world would be able to add this mixture of raw explosive energy and at the same time ultra-controlled finesse, it would be Mark. He’s an expert in trio interplay with a voice that is unmistakably his own’.

With ‘Alive’, Phronesis have created a recording that is sure to stand the test of time – a sheer masterclass in the art of communication and creativity.