To claim that the world has plenty of jazz piano trios on hand is no exaggeration: in recent years the basic classic combo has been experiencing a resounding revival. Yet a searching look among the trios on tour for the essence of this 'movement' - when it all comes down to audience acceptance and an unmistakable sound all it's own - the Tingvall Trio from Hamburg stands out on an international scale.. Martin Tingvall, pianist, hymn writer and the man who gave the band it's name, comments on the new compositions: "The songs always kick things off for us. With this album I've tried to compose in a way that points out new directions to us. We're testing new forms of expression, but at the same time we naturally want to be recognized as the Tingvall Trio. This time the music is clearly the boss, not the trio."
With their 2012 album Vagen, this internationally popular piano trio led by Swedish composer Martin Tingvall suggested that a genuinely interesting spin on the legacy of fellow-Swede Esbjörn Svensson was on the cards. But Beat feels like a sidestep from challenges they have more than enough firepower to take on, although it still offers plenty of lively pop-jazz accessibility. The opening Den Gamla Eken is a pretty tune with a classical undertow, that turns to coaxing swing and then a big, chord-hammering crescendo – but that progression, the dominant characteristic of the set, soon has a formulaic familiarity.