For more than two decades, Swiss pianist and composer Malcolm Braff has pursued a highly personal approach to rhythm, developing original ideas about musical time through performance, composition and research. Throughout a career spanning jazz, contemporary classical music and collaborations across African and Indian musical traditions, he has continually sought new ways to expand rhythmic possibilities while remaining rooted in improvisation.

This recording brings that search into a trio setting alongside Swedish bassist Petter Eldh and Austrian drummer Lukas Koenig. Rather than simply showcasing individual virtuosity, the three musicians approach rhythm as a shared language, building music through listening, interaction and collective decision-making. Complex metric ideas unfold naturally, while groove, openness and spontaneity remain central to the performance.

The music reflects Braff’s long-held belief that rhythm is best understood through collaboration. After years developing his ideas largely through personal research, he found in Eldh and Koenig two musicians whose curiosity, technical command and willingness to experiment allowed those ideas to develop collectively. The result is an ongoing musical dialogue in which composition and improvisation remain in constant conversation.

Born in Brazil to missionary parents and raised between Rio de Janeiro, Cape Verde, Senegal and Switzerland, Braff’s musical language has long drawn on diverse influences, from jazz and African music to contemporary classical composition. Alongside projects with musicians including Erik Truffaz and Yaya Ouattara, he has built a reputation for creating music that combines rhythmic sophistication with emotional directness.

On this new trio recording, those interests converge in a set of performances that explores the possibilities of rhythm without losing sight of communication, interaction and the human pulse at the centre of the music.