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“I think we all have the impression that things are changing right now,” says Michael Wollny, one of European jazz’s leading young musicians. Wollny is right. Something is in the air. Across Europe, musicians, promoters, record companies, commentators and fans are gradually becoming aware that European jazz is in the ascendancy. Indeed, some of the most interesting, challenging and dynamic jazz around is no longer just coming from its land of origin, but from the Old World. Wollny and his colleagues Eva Kruse (bass) and Eric Schaefer (drums) –who comprise the trio [em] – are at the forefront of a burgeoning European jazz explosion.

Like many jazz groups today they have opted for a band name rather than something more “formal” like the Michael Wollny Trio. “We liked the idea of having a band name,” Wollny says. “We wanted to come up with something that was simple and striking at the same time. [em] is a phonetic spelling, the ‘sound’ of the letter ‘M.’” The letter ‘M’ could be seen as a ‘3’ (perfect for a trio) when turned on its side, and [em] also involves the initials of all band members: Eva Eric Michael.

Their debut album Call it [em], released on the ACT label’s exciting Young German Jazz series immediately attracted widespread acclaim on its release in 2005. Here was evidence that young musicians were now emerging in Germany who could hold their own on the world stage. With the release of [em] II, the band deliver on the enormous promise of their debut and display their growth as musicians.

In the year leading up to the recording of [em] II, the trio played more dates than in any other period in their four year history. This time on the bandstand has, of course, led to more finely tuned chemistry within the band and a more specific musical identity. Particularly, the band have developed a greater intuitive relationship, able both to participate in and anticipate each other’s musical developments. Theirs is a sound that is greater than the sum of its parts - the ambition of all ensemble music.

The compositions on [em] II are shorter and crisper than on their debut. Of the fifteen tracks on [em] II, the one that might best sum up the trio’s sound is “Dance & Grow”, showcasing as it does the powerful duality between the written and the improvised. It is typical of the challenges these young musicians set themselves, and the aplomb with which they carry it off verges on the breathtaking.