{"id":211,"date":"2005-10-25T01:05:00","date_gmt":"2005-10-25T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/?p=211"},"modified":"2005-10-25T01:05:00","modified_gmt":"2005-10-25T08:05:00","slug":"piano_trios_part_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2005\/10\/piano_trios_part_1\/","title":{"rendered":"Piano Trios, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

As usual, there are piles of incoming compact discs in my office and the music room. Among those that I will want to hear more than once are several by the piano-bass-drums combination that for at least sixty-five years has been at the core of jazz. The piano trio, of course, functions as the rhythm section for big bands and combos. On its own, depending on the players and how they relate to one another, it is capable of nearly limitless flexibility, breadth, depth and variety. In this posting <\/a>last month, I reflected on the importance of a piano trio that changed the state of the art. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a short list of recommended trio CDs from among the stacks of fairly recent arrivals.
\nKenny Barron Trio, The Perfect Set<\/em>, Live At Bradley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s II<\/a> (Sunnyside). Barron, piano; Ray Drummond, bass; Ben Riley, drums.
\nThree years ago in my Jazz Times<\/em> review <\/a>of this album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s predecessor, I wrote,<\/p>\n

Barron takes “Solar” at a fast clip that does nothing to suppress his development of original melodic ideas or inventiveness in voicings. There’s not a clich\u00c3\u00a9 to be heard.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nor is there in volume two, unless sprinkles of Thelonious Monk seconds and whole-tone runs are to be considered clich\u00c3\u00a9s. Barron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one solo track is a joyous ride on Monk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shuffle Boil.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d For the rest of the hour, the trio shines. Barron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ballad tribute to Monk, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Only One,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a highlight, but not the <\/em>highlight. The entire CD is a highlight by one of the best trios of this or any other period of jazz.
\nDon Friedman VIP Trio, Timeless<\/em><\/a> (441). Friedman, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Omar Hakim, drums.
\nSince the very early 1960s, Friedman has been demonstrating that his thorough understanding of Bill Evans liberates him to be himself within the song form. For a pianist to be himself playing so indelibly personal an Evans piece as “Turn Out the Stars” is a monumental expression of individuality. At seventy,Friedman continues his growth, sounding more youthful and inventive than ever. Patitucci may be Friedman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ideal bassist.
\nJason Moran, Same Mother<\/a> <\/em><\/a><\/a> (Blue Note). Moran, piano; Tarus Mateen, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums; Marvin Sewell, guitar.
\nOkay, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a quartet. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a trio with a guitar grafted on, except for the integrated, and quite lovely, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Aubade.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d After being puzzled by all the hype when Moran emerged a few years ago, I am beginning to fathom his iconoclastic approach, although I find it less profound and revolutionary than some do. He may have studied with Jaki Byard, a genius, but the publicity suggesting that he is Byard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s successor or reincarnation is massively unfair to Moran. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wait a minute and see what he becomes. His trio treatment of Mal Waldron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fire Waltz,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sans guitar, may hold a hopeful hint.
\nMary Lou Williams 1944-1945<\/em><\/a> (Classics). Williams, piano; Al Lucas, bass; Jack Parker, drums.
\nThis survey of a couple of important years in Williams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career includes her suite \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Signs of the Zodiac,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d seven of whose twelve segments are with the trio. If you want to hear, in her prime, an influence on Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, this is a good place to start.
\nBill Mays, Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke, Bick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bag<\/em><\/a> (Triplet). Mays, piano; Swainson, bass; Clarke, drums.
\nMays has two trios, the one with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson<\/a> and this one, with two of Canada\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finest sidemen. Recorded at The Montreal Bistro and Jazz Club, having a fine night, they close with Bud Powell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hallucinations,” a good idea because the performance would have been hard to top.
\nJon Mayer Trio, Strictly Confidential <\/em><\/a> (Fresh Sound). Mayer, piano; Chuck Israels, bass; Arnie Wise, drums.
\nWithout Mays\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 sprung energy, Mayer is a relaxed and relaxing player with origins in the Bud Powell school. Here, he reunites with Israels and Wise. He played with them in Europe more than four decades ago. Their take on Powell’s and Kenny Dorham’s title tune is saturated with Bud’s spirit, and Israels is in his most compelling walking mode.
\nThe Christian Jacob Trio, Styne & Mine<\/em><\/a> (WilderJazz). Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, bass; Ray Brinker, drums.
\nThe brilliant pianist in a program of songs by Jule Styne (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s You or No One,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I Guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry, and others) and originals by Jacob. The trio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sometime boss, Tierney Sutton, sings a couple of tunes with the band. In the notes, Jacob’s other sometime boss, Bill Holman, says, “Christian, Trey and Ray are masters; chops are in abundance, but only in the service of the music.” Yup.
\nSteve Kuhn Trio, Qui\u00c3\u00a9reme Mucho<\/em><\/a> (Sunnyside). Kuhn, piano; David Finck, bass; Al Foster, drums.
\nLike the slightly older Friedman and the slightly younger Mays, Kuhn is a yeoman of modern jazz who earns more recognition than he gets. In this program of classic Latin American songs (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153B\u00c3\u00a9same Mucho,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tres Palabras\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Andaluc\u00c3\u00ada\u00e2\u20ac\u009d among them), he is full of swing, refractive ideas and, at times, almost giddy good humor. Finck and Foster are superb behind, around, and weaving in and out of Kuhn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inventions. A splendid album.
\nHey, this is fun. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s do more tomorrow.
\n(To be continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As usual, there are piles of incoming compact discs in my office and the music room. Among those that I will want to hear more than once are several by the piano-bass-drums combination that for at least sixty-five years has been at the core of jazz. The piano trio, of course, functions as the rhythm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}