Laut & Leipzig - the blog of the Leipzig Jazz Days.

Kitschy, just right

Trio Amore by Jan König
Trio Amore by Jan König

Trio Amore has come to "bring love" to the world. Not like a classic cover band, they play songs about the greatest of all feelings. A living room concert at the Libelle with heart, humor and stylish shirts.

Sunday, half past two. "A bit of kitschy jazz," says a woman in the audience, "just the thing for a Sunday afternoon. Like many others in the audience, she knows one of the three musicians who are about to play at the Libelle. In the heterogeneous audience sit many friends, the parents of the guitarist, former roommates of the drummer. Applause, the three musicians enter the room.

"Hopelessly romantic" is what the Jazztage program booklet says about Trio Amore (please pronounce it in exaggerated Italian). No rose petals or candlelight, not even red wine. Instead, songs about love, longing and a bit of heartbreak. They complete their self-deprecating performance, which is not always to be taken seriously, with colorfully patterned second-hand shirts. "We have come to bring love to the world," they introduce themselves.

The location is small, in a shopping street next to cafes. The trio is a little too loud for the size of the room. The musicians, however, appreciate the proximity to the audience: "You can look people in the eye and interact with them."

Musically, the trio shows joy in playing, technical skill in improvisations and the courage to experiment. At the feet of guitarist Nicolas Greiner lies a hodgepodge of pedals and buttons for versatile sound effects. Drummer Johannes Bode uses towels in addition to various mallets and brooms. They are supported by Andris Meinig on the double bass. He switches between bowing, plucking and his own playing style. The roles are not always clear, for example when the rhythm guitar leaves the leading voice to the bass.

Thematically, it is about love in the broadest sense. The boundaries are partly arbitrary, as the musicians admit. "Not so strikingly about love," they summarize their repertoire. "We play about longings and songs that we enjoy. Yes, even where it just says love." The trio is no ordinary cover band. They don't want to replay the originals one-to-one. For that, they completely do without vocals. Thus, there is always a bit of guesswork as to which song the trio will play next. A noticeable "aha moment" with every recognized melody shows that the plan still works out (which is just as much of a feat with songs from the 50s to the 2000s).

Finally, the theatrical ballad "Can you feel the love tonight?" is heard. Applied to the afternoon concert with Trio Amore, the answer was (attention, Italian): sì.

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