Grammy-winning pianist and composer Kris Davis returns September 25 with Lost in Geneva, the second album from her acclaimed trio featuring bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Johnathan Blake. Released on Davis’ 4166 Records, the album captures a trio that has developed a remarkable musical chemistry through years of touring and performing together.
“Anyone closely concerned with contemporary jazz keeps an ear open for Davis’ next move,” wrote Giovanni Russonello of DownBeat, and Lost in Geneva offers another compelling example of why Davis remains such an important voice in contemporary jazz.
Since the release of the trio’s debut, Run the Gauntlet, in 2024, Davis, Hurst and Blake have spent countless hours together on stages around the world. That sustained experience has produced a deeply intuitive ensemble capable of moving effortlessly between Davis’ intricate compositions, powerful grooves and spontaneous exploration.
“We’ve been touring steadily for a few years now, and I feel a real clarity about who we are as a trio,” Davis says. “I wanted to write music that highlights our strengths—grounded in groove and open enough to explore and engage with my compositional language.”
The trio’s development was particularly evident during a January 2025 appearance at New York’s legendary Village Vanguard. Critic Nate Chinen described the performance as the “first jaw-droppingly great performance” of the year, highlighting how Davis’ “stretchy provocations at the keys” were met by the weight and adventurous spirit of her bandmates.
That chemistry has continued to grow. In 2026, the trio was awarded the Deutscher Jazz Preis (German Jazz Prize) as “Live Act of the Year International.”
Lost in Geneva is in many ways a portrait of that evolving relationship. While Run the Gauntlet paid tribute to six influential women pianists, the new album draws its inspiration from the trio itself. Davis contributes eight originals and reimagined compositions, while Hurst and Blake each contribute a composition. The album also includes Davis’ interpretation of Morton Feldman’s “Nature Piece 5.”
The album’s title comes from one of those experiences that can only emerge from life on the road. “Lost in Geneva” evokes the disorientation of travel, jet lag and unfamiliar surroundings, transforming those feelings into music. The piece may already be familiar to listeners who saw the trio’s recent NPR Tiny Desk Concert, another memorable chapter in the group’s growing history.
The opening track, “The Subtext,” immediately establishes the album’s restless character with a jarring exchange of piano lines. Its elusive rhythms suggest the hidden meanings beneath double-talk, creating a sense of tension and movement.
“Congestion Pricing” begins with a resonant solo from Hurst before gradually building into a hectic musical depiction of New York City traffic. Davis’ percussive piano and Blake’s increasingly forceful drumming turn the composition into a whirlwind of activity.
Davis revisits two pieces from earlier stages of her career, “Where Does That Tunnel Go” and “The Ballerina.” The former originally appeared on her 2010 album Good Citizen, while “The Ballerina” has previously been explored in various settings, including collaborations with Ingrid Laubrock and Craig Taborn. In the hands of this trio, both pieces take on new dimensions.
Hurst’s “The Bluesy Bird in Bob’s Backyard” grew from the bassist’s long-running fascination with birdsong, inspired by a particularly soulful avian visitor to his home. It is preceded by “Mourning Dove,” a spontaneous group improvisation that developed into a standalone composition. A second improvisational piece, “Northern Flicker,” closes the album.
Davis’ “The Deer Fly” takes inspiration from a decidedly less welcome creature. The bloodsucking insect known for dive-bombing New England hikers becomes the source for a composition driven by relentless momentum.
Blake’s “Clues,” originally recorded on his 2012 debut album The Eleventh Hour, receives a new treatment here, transformed into a propulsive and deeply grooving trio performance. Davis also brings an unexpected rhythmic energy to Feldman’s abstract “Nature Piece 5,” creating an arrangement that is simultaneously angular, unpredictable and remarkably kinetic.
The result is an album that reflects the trio’s increasingly distinctive musical language. Davis’ compositions provide the framework, but Hurst and Blake are clearly equal participants in the process, constantly responding, reshaping and pushing the music in unexpected directions.
“It’s been fun to play the same music night after night and find a way to have a different experience every show,” Davis explains. “We’re digging deeper all the time, and this trio has become focused on the smaller details within the structure of the pieces. It’s all about those little discoveries and shaping the music together.”
Those discoveries will continue on stage following the album’s September 25 release. The Kris Davis Trio begins its album-release performances with appearances at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in Chicago on September 26 and the Monterey Jazz Festival on September 27.
The trio then heads to Australia for an album-release tour October 19–30, including the Melbourne International Jazz Festival on October 19–20, the Perth Jazz Festival on October 23, the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival on October 24, and Davis’ artist residency at the Sydney Conservatorium from October 25–30.
A European tour follows November 19–22, with Robert Hurst and drummer Jim Black joining Davis for performances at Kulturzentrum Gems in Singen, Germany, on November 19; the Klaeng Festival Stadtgarten in Cologne on November 20; AMR in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 21; and Music im Pflegidach in Muri, Switzerland, on November 22.
The trio with Hurst and Blake returns to New York for a week-long engagement at the Village Vanguard, January 12–17, 2027.
With Lost in Geneva, Kris Davis, Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake have created an album that reflects the rewards of sustained collaboration: music that is tightly connected yet open-ended, rhythmically infectious yet filled with unexpected turns. Wherever this trio finds itself, the journey itself becomes part of the music.
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