“ROAR feat. Christopher Dell” is the logical extension of Reza Askari’s trio. Saxophone, double bass and drums are joined by the vibraphone – quasi percussion, harmony and rhythm instrument in one and therefore the ideal complement. Dell not only brings vibrating metal plates and beating mallets into the existing trio, but also his own way of thinking and working: Structures are questioned, gutted, negated or reassembled. Within the buildings that “ROAR” creates and has built, windows open up. They unlock a view of new soundscapes. While Askari’s compositions for the trio let off steam in their respective frames, the quartet sometimes scrapes at the frame of the frame, scratches some varnish from the surface, leaves it and returns to it again.

When improvising together, the top premise is always the group. The three musical counterparts are always the linchpin on which their own playing is suspended and oriented. Communication that is based on trust, the joy of playing and ears as big as satellite dishes.

The extended instrumentation creates denser sound structures. The minimalism of “ROAR” gives way to a newly differentiated complexity and colorfulness. On the first album released in 2022…  more