Italian pianist Tonino Miano pushes ahead with a forward-looking adaption of jazz that combines parts of established tradition with its exciting, esoteric outskirts. Retaining Miano’s rhythm section of Riccardo Grosso on double bass and Andrea Melani on drums, the Tonino Miano Trio is poised to issue another set of intrepid works.
MOSS/Electric (July 22 2026, Aut Records) comes less than two years after the same trio put forth Luminary (2024) and is a further exploration of ideas presented on that earlier album. And what ideas might that be?
The incursion of electronic sounds into the tried-and-true piano trio concept. ‘Electro-acoustic’ jazz isn’t really a new idea at all at this point, but the freshness of this music comes from how they approach it. Miano & Co. liberally mixes shapes — or the broad outline of shapes — with free-forms and abstractions, inserting electronic/synthesized sounds into an otherwise acoustic, modern and avant-garde combo. The computer-age sonorities act as an intrusion into the acoustic space and the three’s reactions to it is often where all the interesting and novel activity takes place.
After a portentous entry, “Intro/Light Under the Tongue” soon launches into a groove that proves to be short-lived; the Trio instead conducts investigations in a new direction. That leads ultimately to Miano’s piano that’s tossing out modern jazz patterns but Melani engages in a tug-of-war with Miano, causing tension that prevents the number from settling into the lounge even as it becomes mostly acoustic at this point. Grosse’s bass exhortation at the end keeps it squarely in that mood.
As with Luminary, some pieces are all or nearly all acoustic but the vibe doesn’t really differ that much. “Moon Droplets on my Sleeve” is just as probing and dispersed as the electro-acoustic exercises and Miano gives his bandmates plenty of room for personal expression.
“Mycelium” commences like an orchestra warming up or contestants sizing each other up. Grosso picks up the ball and gets it rolling with a lumbering bass line that eventually perks up into a swing. Miano on piano responds accordingly and Melani is doing double duty amplifying the swing and taking an improvising position next to the piano. It’s Grosso who banters with Miano’s piano on “After Current” as Melani is quietly picking up whatever cues are left by the other two.
“Moss Electric” is electro-acoustic in a completely acoustic spirit. Miano’s synths mimics the clarinet and xylophone as well as the obviously futuristic artificial noises as part of a widely dispersed, free-jazz stew. The formula is carried over into the next track, “Filament Drift,” where Miano provides spaced-out accoutrements first behind Grosso’s lead bass before overwhelming him.
Alongside piano is a percussive, low-end synth emitting dissonant notes all over “Chlorophilia.” The floating quality of the piano notes hung out in the air during “Eight Minutes to The Sun” suggests a subtle electronic treatment that makes the song more delicate and empyrean. But even when the effects go away, Miano’s sensitive touch alone is enough to maintain this serene atmosphere.
“Outro” winds up being the most ‘electro’ of all the tracks, a lively, organic rhythm syncopated with a clinical synth sequence.
The Tonino Miano Trio’s MOSS/Electric goes to show that mixing circuited technology into unplugged jazz by itself doesn’t make the music interesting, they rely on old-fashioned attributes of intuitive skills and technical abilities to make it that way.
- Tonino Miano Trio – ‘MOSS/Electric’ (2026) - July 13, 2026
- Kris Davis Trio, “The Subtext” from ‘Lost In Geneva’ (2026): sneak peek - July 8, 2026
- Miles Okazaki – ‘Boomtown’ (2026) - July 3, 2026
