Eick's Quartet in Quiet Reflection
Four musicians in a room, listening hard, making space for silence and subtlety.
By 2022, Mathias Eick had spent decades establishing himself on ECM Records and across the Nordic jazz scene. Last Decade (2022) represents not a departure but a consolidation—a chance to hear him in a lean, focused setting with Jérôme Regard on bass, Benjamin Lackner on piano, and Manu Katché on drums. This is the kind of album Eick had earned the right to make: patient, unhurried, built on trust between four players who know what each other values.
The music here favors space over density. Eick's trumpet voice—which can be lyrical or dark depending on the context—sits in genuine conversation rather than leading a backing band. Lackner's piano work is sparse and precise, often more about what is not played than what is. Katché, one of the most tasteful drummers in contemporary jazz, understands completely that this is not a rhythm section but a collaborative entity. Regard's bass anchors without insisting.
This is the kind of record that reveals itself slowly. It is not designed to impress immediately or to announce itself loudly. For listeners already attuned to Eick's work, it feels like a natural progression into something more intimate. For those encountering him here, it demands attention and patience—but rewards both. It sits comfortably within his ECM aesthetic while feeling distinctly his own.
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