Trio Elf

Gerwin Eisenhauer's virtuoso drumming sounds like a drum machine come alive since he is freely improvising with drum'n'bass or hip-hop grooves like other jazz drummers are using the swing rhythm.

Over this pulsating foundation Walter Lang stretches his lyrically expressive melodies and energetic chords that have made him one of Europe's most prestigious pianists.

Sebastian Gieck brilliantly connects these layers, one second delivering his trademark melodious counterpoint then diving into deep synth-like grooves on the acoustic bass.

The hidden fourth member of Trio Elf is sound wizard Mario Sütel, who at times confronts the band with a sampled doppelganger by spontaneously cutting loops out of the flow of improvisation.

Downbeat Review

Trio Elf

Trio Elf drummer Gerwin Eisenhauer
remembers it vividly: “When the
kids realized they were actually danc-
Eisenhauer had been asked to play
along with DJs at drum’n’bass raves in
Germany. He had developed a way, as
he noted, “to translate programmed and
sampled rhythms to the drumset.” At
one point, he brought along his musical
cohorts, pianist Walter Lang and bass-
ist Sven Faller. And that was the begin-
ning of Trio Elf. With a name derived by
of each member, the group extends and
expands the notion of the traditional jazz
piano trio.
The players have made their way in the jazz
world and honed their chops by working in a
variety of settings. Lang has studied at Berklee
College of Music, collaborated with Lee
Konitz and James Moody and made six albums
as a leader. Eisenhauer grad-
uated from the Drummers’ Collective, has pub-
lished a drum’n’bass workbook and was part of
a Frank Sinatra tribute band.
Based in Germany’s Bavaria region, Trio
Elf combines melodic lyricism, deft rhythmic
expression and electronic technology. “Jazz
musicians have always used known melodies
to improvise on,” said Lang. “In that respect
we are in the tradition. To get our individual
sound, we modify the material greatly without
Another vital part of the group’s dynamic
comes from their sound engineer, Mario Sütel.
“Mario surprises us with a different drum
sound for every piece, which makes Gerwin
alter his beats all the time,” said Faller. “We
have these three layers: Gerwin’s virtuoso
beats with a lot of turns and stops, Walter’s
wide melodic and lyrical phrases, which open
a lot of space, and my melodic counterpoint to
his melodies and connection to Gerwin’s beats
on the bottom.” Sütel also often spontaneously
offering the band what they think of as a “sam-
pled doppelgänger.”
The group came to the attention of Enja
Records’ Matthias Winckelmann in 2006. “I
thought this was something truly new,” said
Winckelmann. “I’ve always loved the piano
trio as a format, and I thought these guys really
changed it around and managed to sound both
old and new at the same time.”
called Elf and was released in 2006. What a
mix of source material it was—Richard James
(or his pseudonym Aphex Twin), Thelonious
Monk’s “Off Minor,” Paul Desmond’s iconic
“Take Five” (done here in 10), two by Milton
Nascimento (a favorite of all three members)
and originals by Lang and Faller. Additionally,
the album included Lang’s arrangement of a
traditional Korean song.
Trio Elf uses the repertoire of jazz history
-
tion in varied popular material. All the instru-
ments are altered in their sounds at times but
never for wacky effects. Their second Enja
album, 746, has a hypnotic and engaging ver-
sion of a tune by the band that Faller calls “our
favorite German cultural export.” That would
be Kraftwerk, and the tune is “The Man-
Machine.” Everyone wins here—the original
tune is recognizable and powerfully revealed,
the drumming is deft and enthralling, yet the
trio functions like an experienced, well-oiled
jazz combo.
Trio Elf tours regularly, and their sonic col-
ors work just as well on stage as in the record-
ing studio. They played at New York’s Zinc
Bar in May to promote their latest Enja
release, , which features their old friend
Nascimento on two of his classics, “Ponta de
Areia” and “Anima.” At the Zinc Bar, the band’s
compadre Beat Kaestli took the Portuguese-
lyric vocal on “Ponta” and offered a shimmering
complement to the textured arrangement. The
CD also features an impressionistic tribute to
Antonio Carlos Jobim and a guest performance
from Brazilian percussionist Marco Lobo. Trio
Elf continues its signature exploration of the best
of what’s out there in the world of sound.
—Donald Elfman