Sea of Stories

For fans of Jaune Toujours, this may come as something of a shock. Their singer and accordion player Piet Maris is actually a very serious muso. He may be best known for mixing ska, chanson and political themes in Belgium's ‘kick-ass roots band’ (as they describe themselves), but now comes a change of musical direction. In 3’Ain Maris continues to play accordion (but doesn’t sing) and is joined by the excellent Belgian bass player Otto Kint, and an equally classy trumpet player Yamen Martini, who has moved to Belgium from Syria. Now based in the port of Ostend (which explains the seagull noises between several of the tracks), the trio have recorded a set of impressive instrumentals that match jazz with echoes of the global influences that inspired Jaune Toujours. The set begins with cool, atmospheric pieces in which trumpet and accordion lead, driven on by Klint's bass work. ‘Tango Soleil du Nord’ starts out as a stately accordion tango before the trumpet moves in, while the drifting, emotional trumpet on ‘Mayaaze’ sounds like a lament for Martini's troubled homeland.