Wasted & WantedECT ****

This German wunderkind's muse is so restless, and the sounds on Wasted Wanted are so diverse, it's clear that the pianist has little interest in playing it safe. Wollny and his partners, bassist Eva Kruse and drummer Eric Schaefer, sound more like musicians who are searching, trying out different sounds and textures, looking under every stone for what Wollny calls "true and real moments in music". If there is a recurring theme, it's Schaefer's groove – a relentless, dance- inflected back beat that drives even the ballads along at pace. But over it, rather than solos per se, the pianist spins themes and variations that veer from Kraftwerk minimalism to punk rock bombast. There are echoes of the Bad Plus, not to mention Mahler, but as piano trios go, [em] are a breath of fresh air in an increasingly congested genre. actmusic.com