Brass, percussion and woodwind that somehow sounds like a beach. Possibly everything I ever want from a band. They entered the “stage” area looking quite unassuming with a minimal drum kit, tenor saxophone (later bass clarinet) and trombone, and all three players looking quite different.
The trombonist looked a little hip-hop-ish with his cap on a jaunty “urban” angle, baggy jeans and big trainers. The saxophonist/clarinetist looked a student type with sideburns that changed direction as he blew and the drummer looked like someone I know’s dad.
My understanding of this night was that it was jazz although the first band were a more satirical mix (not sure whether that was intended or not) in a Zappa style. So my expectation weren’t too high for Three Fall. They did play some jazz but very much so crossed jazz borders by incorporating freeform, ska, breaks and some atmospherical and more experimental sections.
The music, in whichever direction they headed at that time mostly had a groove or a feeling, but always very, very precise. Sometimes freeform jazz can get a little lost or just sound bad through the players being unaccustomed to each other or not being confident enough. This wasn’t the case with Three Fall. They were very positive in all their playing, which was juxtaposed against their unassuming stage presence. What was of great interest to me was some of their unusual techniques in playing. The trombonist for example used double tonguing a lot but with a very gravelly, dirty tone, that pleased me a lot. The saxophonist also used various tonguing techniques, as well as playing without the reed, which contrasted the usual smooth, silky saxophone tone with a more raspy, brassy tone. He also had quite a cool vinyl scratching sound which was a bit of comedy brought into the more breaky parts of the performance. The drummer was a great jazz instrumentalist and surprisingly used a bucket or water with a pan to create some atmospheric layers for one piece which was a beautiful beach scene journey.
For me this group crossed many musical borders and boundaries and projected many feelings and emotions. I would like to see them again in a more serious environment, don’t get me wrong, Arcanoa is a wonderful new-age style venue with even a tiny waterfall running along the bar, but it was a bit too much of a bar for some of the points of this performance. The ambient sections were sometimes overpowered by some guys having a nonchalant conversation at the bar. I didn’t know I was going to this show so I had no camera with me, I got in touch with the guys and they sent me this press photo. I also asked if they had a website or something and they said not yet but you could find any or all of them in Köln, they're apparently very involved in that scene, especially musical acts such as Firefunkers, Sindikaat, Mezartha, Brass Action Heroes and Lautstar, ot name but a few.
