| Jazz |
Summary: Andrew Moorhead’s trio delivers a striking modern jazz album blending structure, spontaneity, and emotional depth into a deeply immersive listening experience.
Andrew Moorhead Trio: A Mesmerizing Jazz Journey from Austin to Dresden
Daybreak in Austin starts the same way for me: a hot cup of coffee, headphones on, and the simple act of listening. That first sip burns a little. A curl of milk disappears into the dark. Piano notes trickle in, just enough to remind me I’m awake. If I’m going to really listen, to notice every shift and detail, this is what it takes. Closed off, all in. No distractions.
The album gets down to business right away. Andrew Moorhead, a pianist and composer from Houston, new to me, makes his intentions pretty clear within seconds. He’s got this sharp, thoughtful energy, like someone solving a puzzle as he plays. The music feels both logical and wild, not in conflict, but working together.
And then there’s François Moutin on bass, a serious name. Just seeing him listed means the music won’t mess around. He chooses his projects carefully. He’s played with legends: Michel Portal, Dave Liebman, Roy Haynes. Moutin’s based in New York, but as a Frenchman, he’s one of those musicians quietly helping shape jazz from the inside.
Moorhead gravitates toward these repeating patterns, but the effect isn’t robotic. The music’s organized, yeah, but somehow it stays alive and bright. The trio clicks because of that energy. Ari Hoenig on drums, his playing is tight, precise, never boring. It breathes. The structure’s there, but the music stretches and pulls in good ways.
Sometimes, as I listen, I think back to seeing Dalí’s Persistence of Memory at the Centre Pompidou years ago, the melting clocks, that strange mixture of order and chaos. This music bends time, too. I keep coming back to one word: amazement. Not awe or reverence, but real surprise at how these musicians aren’t just following a script, they’re inventing the story as you hear it.
Moorhead moved to Boulder in 2008 for math, and honestly, you do feel that clarity and order in what he writes. The pieces grow naturally, one idea blooming into the next, like a tree putting out leaves, then flowers, then fruit if you wait long enough. Still, the music isn’t intimidating. The real job is simpler, just pay attention. Listen to what’s here.
Moutin keeps it grounded. His bass doesn’t just fill space, it makes sense of things, draws everything into focus. The trio balances itself beautifully. You catch bits of Steve Reich’s looping structures and traces of Philip Glass’s minimalism, but at the core, Moorhead’s voice comes out in melody. That’s your way in. The tunes are complex, sure, but graceful and expressive, unmistakably human.
Moorhead’s story isn’t what you’d call easy. He put his studies on hold for years after a bad accident, a serious fall. Recovery meant rethinking his approach to the piano, figuring out how to play with limited right wrist movement and spinal injuries that messed with his use of the sustain pedal. He made those limits part of his style. The things that could have stopped him became what he uses to speak.
Life pulled him to Nashville, Prague, Kansas City, Boulder, and now Dresden. That wandering, crossing borders and blending influences, runs straight through his music.
When you mix European and American traditions, something new usually happens. There’s a spark, maybe a bit more nerve, a boldness that keeps the music alive. You don’t take this in by picking it apart. You listen the way you’d take in Ravel, openly, ready for whatever lands.
I walk away from this album thinking Moorhead’s music leaves a real mark, not just because it’s well made, but because it’s genuinely itself. His name should travel far. Really, this isn’t just something to put on and hear. It’s a place to settle into, to live with, for a while.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, April 27th 2026
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Musicians:
Andrew Moorhead – piano
François Moutin – bass
Ari Hoenig – drums
Tracklisting:
Faster Etude 4:16
Intro Tune 8:54
Intervals 5:59
Phased Voices 7:11
Mirage 8:37
Slower Etude 4:31
Boogie 3:49
Compositions by Andrew Moorhead
Production Info:
Produced by Andrew Moorhead
Recorded & mixed by David Stoller at The Samurai Hotel, Astoria, NY
Recorded on 08/28/2025
Mastered by Scott Kinsey at Wishbone Studio, Encino, CA
Cover design & layout by John Bishop