The sequel of “First Reason” goes not only one step forward, but several. Because the playing skills and the compositional visions of the young Berlin drummer Christian Lillinger developed considerably since 2009 (it was his recording debut as a leader, even if already astonishing), but also due to the maturation of the Grund project. Some considerable changes in personnel happened. In the unusual two basses / two horns centered instrumental format, the piano obtained a permanent presence, played by Achim Kaufmann, the same of another band with Lillinger’s and bassist Robert Landfermann’s participations, "Grünen". The three act as the rhythmic nucleus of this outfit. The pianist before was veteran Joachim Kühn, guesting only in some tracks. The harmonic reinforcement is achieved by the inclusion of a vibraphone, adding virtuoso Christophe Dell to the ensemble. And there was a replacement: the alto saxophone is now in the hands of another youngster in the scene, Pierre Borel, a French musician in quick ascension. British, but living in Berlin Tobias Delius and Danish Jonas Westergaard remain from the first opus, actively contributing to the essence of Grund’s sound. It’s great when we can follow the evolution of something organic (“grund” means soil and reason) as music… |