The Claus Raible Trio and the Stefan Aeby Trio in contrast at the Bird’s Eye in Basel in January and February

At the concert by the Claus Raible Trio at the Bird's Eye in Basel on 31 January, pianist Raible, bassist Giorgos Antoniou, and drummer Xaver Hellmeier played standards and originals in a straight, tight style with room to explore subtleties that grew ever richer as the set continued, with Hellmeier in particular finding ever new variations on swinging grooves. The concert by the Stefan Aeby Trio at the Bird's Eye on 22 February offered a contrast: pianist Aeby, bassist André Pousaz, and drummer Michael Stulz played originals in a loose style that was all exploration in the first set before settling into ever tighter grooves in the course of the second. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 24 February 2023)