Third Time's A Charm

It sounds like the kind of recording that needed a bit of time. The Chris Poulsen Trio have always stood a little apart from their jazz brethren. The Brisbane three-piece's spectrum of influences has long extended beyond the conventional jazz standards and into realms of fusion, gospel and other surprising genres. David & Goliath, while stylistically more consistent than previous outings, seems a record befitting the scope of such ambition.

“It's something that's definitely been brewing for a couple of years,” pianist Chris Poulsen admits. “Some of the tunes have definitely been in the works for about that long. We kept the approach pretty fresh, though. You know, starting in February, we met up every Wednesday and had a jam. A couple of Wednesdays ago, we just started hitting record. We're only just going to have it ready in time for the launch, actually.”

There's a decidedly old-school flavour to the disc. Firstly, it's a conceptual suite of songs (based around the biblical legend). Secondly, it's been recorded predominantly live as an ensemble. Finally, and most significantly, it's been recorded to tape. Bassist Jeremy O'Connor is also the owner of new studio space Tapeworm Studios, and David & Goliath is the studio's debut album recording.

“It's fairly old-school stuff, yeah,” Poulsen says. “Minimal mics, no room separation, all of us really close together. 'You've got to get it right first time', sort of thing. It's nerve-racking in that you're all very much in it together. You all have to be on it. You know, there'd be times where I'd have a really good take but the bass wasn't too happy or there'd be other ways around. It'd always end up being a bit of a compromise.

“I feel as though I generally thought a bit more conceptually about it,” he says of the album concept. “I think having an overarching storyline was a strong artistic decision. It gives an album more of a meaning. Particularly for an instrumental album, I think having a strong narrative thread to hook into and explore helps keep a listener more attentive and invested in the music.”

More than anything, David & Goliath feels like a quintessentially artistic endeavour. From its risky recording approaches and ambitious concept to its lengthy gestation period, the Chris Poulsen Trio's third album seems representative of an act more concerned with pursuing their collective muse than their audience. Which, given their success has seen them previously successfully tour to Nepal and New Zealand, is admirable.

“I'd love to see this album reach a bit further than previous albums. We've had a lot of opportunities for touring and that sort of thing but I'd really just like to see the music reach a bit further, I think,” Poulsen tells. “In some senses, we are pretty content to just do what we do. You know, the occasional tour to here, there, Melbourne, Sydney – that sort of thing. There are no aggressive plans of world domination or anything like that.

“You know, it looks like we'll be supporting a major international jazz act when they tour here later and we aren't really looking for anything more ambitious than that. We're happy just doing that sort of thing,” he reflects. “Really, we're just artists. We love being artists and making art. We want to get better at our art and we want to keep making things that people enjoy. This is just the latest thing that we've done.”