My review of Reijseger / Harmen Fraanje / Mola Sylla's Down Deep, today at All About Jazz.

While the three players have worked together before, most notably on soundtrack music for a film by Werner Herzog, for whom cellist Ernst Reijseger has been composing since the turn of the millennium. But this is the first time they've recorded as a trio, and the results are pretty much what's expected, based on their terrific show at the 2012 Dutch Jazz & World Meeting: cinematic structures, profound, near-mitochondrial connections and a combination of dark lyricism and, with the participation of Beninese expat Sylla, the infusion of traditional music from his home country.

It all makes for a recording whose power is predicated on its subtlety, its drama based on its gentle development, and its appeal the result of three players who bring different backgrounds to the table, but somehow seem to come together here in a unified voice.

Review here.