“A band which is going to take off like a rocket” (Deutschlandfunk) with “excitement” running through the music (Downbeat, US), and a “revelation” (Jazz Magazine, FR). There was much praise for Vincent Meissner Trio’s 2021 debut album “Bewegtes Feld”. The pianist was just twenty at the time and his trio was still in its infancy. Corona had meant that the three had hardly been able to perform together or to develop their music live. Things have now changed, and the wait may have even increased the fun they now have. A focused band sound has emerged, along with a freedom to either let things run on flexibly and freeform, or to condense into song-like structures. Energy and power are to be heard, but also contemplation and reflectiveness.

For “Wille” (will), Meissner has now sharpened his focus on melody. The aim is to play catchy music, but to transcend the banal. Vincent defines the ‘will’ mentioned in the title as the “development of mental ideas that one transfers into reality through action”, or as a “conscious decision to make an action”. There is simply the will to play and to find expression, to make a statement through one’s artistic work. This strong imperative gives the album both its urgency and its persuasiveness.

“Wille” is also defined by an affinity with pop music. For the first time, the band has recorded covers; the subtle ways they have been adapted are astounding. There is nothing about these adaptations which is either contrived or inauthentic, and they also sit very well alongside Meissner’s own compositions. His purpose in recording the covers was anything but commercially driven; it was because the band's individual sound comes across so clearly as a result of engaging properly with the material sourced from others.

This focus and engagement is part of something bigger: the Vincent Meissner Trio is able to convince with its fundamental honesty. It is all about conveying impressions of the present beyond words, about evoking emotional experiences which point beyond the tangible moment in a way that is completely natural. “Wille” is an important step forward, and it already will make listeners want more. This band is well on its way.