Piano Trios: Old (Tommy Flanagan, Pierre Favre) & New (Trio Imagination, Kris Davis)

   Trio 3, a collective project with Oliver Lake (saxophone), Reggie Workman (bass), and Andrew Cyrille (drums), had a long run. From 1992 all the way through 2016, the band toured regularly and recorded six projects as a trio, plus five more with added pianists. Lake has now retired from performance, but Workman and Cyrille have reimagined the previous unit as Trio Imagination with acclaimed pianist David Virelles. Their first release is Creative Inspirations, a generally calm affair offering a wide range of approaches. Universal Sketches, for one example, begins with Workman’s inventive arco playing, followed by a switch to pizzicato to continue his solo. A careful Virelles enters with some left hand work, and Cyrille joins him with some spooky percussion work. The piece drifts to a close without any kind of resolution. Following close on its heels is Andrew Hill’s Refuge, a gentle ballad with a rolling rhythm and tight interactions among the musicians, ending with a stirring drum solo. This piece is about as close as this unit ever gets to sounding like a conventional piano trio. The out-of-tempo Space Dance feature spare piano ruminations and scary sounds from Workman’s bowed bass fiddle. Unseen Mother II is an extremely quiet and slowly evolving piece by Virelles. The mutual close listening skills of the trio are apparent in this sadness-tinged performance. Sometimes I Wonder is an elegantly crafted solo showcase for the inimitable Cyrille. Virelles’ Para Ti brings this album to a close with a simple melody and a gently floating feeling that feels like it could go on forever (and might have, as it fades at the end.) The trio recorded this music in the fabled Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, where Cyrille and Workman have each participated in numerous sessions over the last sixty years. In his first appearance on record, Workman was a member of the Gigi Gryce Quintet that recorded Sayin’ Something for Prestige/New Jazz at the Van Gelder studio in March 1960. Cyrille’s first session in the room, and also his recorded debut, was The Hawk Relaxes, a Coleman Hawkins date for Prestige/Moodsville in February 1961. So there’s a lot of history at play when this band gets to work, and the much-younger pianist Virelles was acutely aware of the legendary musicians who preceded him at the keyboard of the studio’s Steinway B. Creative Inspirations is a subtly ingratiating session, the kind of album that will repay repeated listenings with fresh insights each time. Happily recommended. 

Pi Recordings PI115; David Virelles (p) Reggie Workman (b, perc, water drum) Andrew Cyrille (d, perc) percussion); Englewood Cliffs, NJ, no dates specified; Unseen Mother/ Pétalo/ Universal Sketches/ Refuge/ Space Dance/ Neves/ Unseen Mother II/ Sometimes I Wonder/ Para Ti; 43:35. pirecordings.com

    The Kris Davis Trio features the adventurous pianist with Robert Hurst on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums. The trio’s latest release, Lost In Geneva, features a half-dozen of Davis’ original tunes, a pair of group improvisations, one tune apiece from Hurst and Blake, and Davis’ arrangement of Morton Feldman’s Nature Piece 5. The natural world seems to have provided the main inspiration for the music, which includes such titles as Hurst’s politely swinging The Bluesy Bird in Bob’s Backyard, Davis’ insistent The Deer Fly , and the collective improvisations Mourning Dove and Northern Flicker. Kris Davis started classical piano lessons at the age of six, but as she told Davis Adler in a 2014 interview “by the eighth grade I knew I wanted to be a jazz musician.” She moved from her native Calgary, Alberta to Toronto for study coupled with the practical experience of frequent nights on bandstands around town. Arriving in New York in 2001, she’s been very busy both as leader and sideperson. I hear the influences of Ran Blake, Andrew Hill, and Cecil Taylor in her boldly inventive approach to the piano. But I could be wildly wrong. After all, it’s not the typical jazz musician who adapts Morton Feldman’s music for a trio setting. Her compositions often develop in surprising ways, with abrupt shifts in tempo, volume and feeling. With such complex originals, experience really counts in selecting the bassist and drummer. Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake have each logged hundreds of sessions over the years. Hurst’s recorded work dates back to 1983. While he often performs in the Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis groups, his discography also includes dates with guitarists Dave Stryker and Mark Elf, pianist Robert Glasper, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, and Paul McCartney (!). His frankly beautiful playing here is one reason to listen closely to Lost In Geneva. Drummer Blake’s first recordings came in 1996 and 1997, on pianist Norman Simmons’ The Heat And The Sweet. He joined the Mingus Big Band in 1999, and he’s been pretty busy since then with the likes of trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Kenny Barron, and the Black Art Jazz Collective. Lost In Geneva is a deeply satisfying album, well worth your attention. 

4166 Records; Kris Davis (p) Robert Hurst (b) Johnathan Blake (d); Mt. Vernon, NY, September 15, 2025; The Subtext/ Congestion Pricing/ Lost in Geneva/ Where Does That Tunnel Go?/ The Ballerina/ Mourning Dove/ The Bluesy Bird in Bob’s Backyard/ Nature Piece 5/ Clues/ The Deer Fly/ Northern Flicker; 54:30. krisdavis.bandcamp.com

    The Pierre Favre Trio teams the drummer with pianist Irène Schweizer and bassist George Mraz. With Mraz later replaced by Peter Kowald, the trio lasted for a few years. Until recently, the first documentation of the group was Santana, an FMP release recorded in October 1968. But it seems to be in the nature of tape archives to reveal some previously hidden history. So it is with Bird Food, a half-hour of the band live in the studio in February 1968. The tape was unearthed by trombonist Samuel Blaser and Favre from the drummer’s personal collection of tapes. The music is powerful and free, with the energetic Favre leading the way and matching wits with the under-appreciated Schweizer while Mraz elegantly negotiates the space between them. The program begins with Ornette Coleman’s Bird Food, followed by a trio of Schweizer originals: the atmospheric Sound II, the uptempo Hinten, and the brash stop-start rhythms of The Attack. Bird Food is a welcome slice of the past, and a reminder that European free jazz of the period had many ways to tell its stories. 

SONGS 004CD; Irène Schweizer (p) George Mraz (b) Pierre Favre (d); Zurich, Switzerland, February 19, 1968; Bird Food/ Sounds II/ Hinten/ The Attack; 29:58. samuelblaser.bandcamp.com

     The masterful pianist Tommy Flanagan made over 50 albums as a leader, and many more as a sideman with such luminaries as John Coltrane, Thad Jones, Kenny Burrell, J.J. Johnson, and Miles Davis. He was active from 1956 to 2001. In 1984, while on vacation in Ireland with his wife, he suggested to local star drummer John Wadham that he would be open to doing some playing. Wadham called bassist Lindsay Horner to round out the trio. Horner was just out of college, and by his own admission in the liner notes for Tommy Flanagan Trio’s Made In Dublin, was both palpably excited and a bit afraid. He needn’t have worried, as he sounds fine in this program of jazz classics and a few standards. The trio played an informal afternoon gig at Dublin’s National Concert Hall and recorded an album’s worth of material at RTE Studios in Dublin. Decades later, Horner can’t recall if the gig came before the studio session or after it. He does recall that there were no rehearsals for either event. In the end, it doesn’t really matter which came first, and jazz fans will be happy to have this music available. It’s another tale of a long-forgotten recording making it out into the world. Wadham passed away in 2003, and the tape was discovered in his archive, leading to this Livia Records release. Horner writes that Flanagan was “in a bluesy mood and wanted to keep things loose ...” With three gorgeous solo pieces joining the trio selections, Made In Dublin is a throughly enjoyable showcase for Tommy Flanagan, a pianist and “musician’s musician” whose elegant playing places him in the pantheon of jazz legends. Recommended? Of course! 

Livia LRCD2603; Tommy Flanagan (p; piano solo on *) Lindsey Horner (b) John Wadham (d); Dublin, Ireland, August or September 1984; Relaxin’ at Camarillo/ Donna Lee/ The Way You Look Tonight*/ Straight, No Chaser/ Summertime/ A Child is Born*/ Blues in the Closet/ Lady Be Good*; 45:34. www.lirarecords.com

Anna Butterss, John Raymond, & Ben Lumsdaine: Beginningless

     The electro-acoustic trio of Anna Butterss, John Raymond, & Ben Lumsdaine conjures a collision of groove and noise on the enchanting Beginningless. Their improvised music relies in part on connections forged by bassist Anna Butterss and drummer Ben Lumsdaine in 2010 in Indiana, with trumpeter John Raymond coming on the scene in 2017. The much respected guitarist and theorist of improvisation Derek Bailey preferred to play with new partners all the time, thinking it might prove musically “interesting.” Over many years of listening to music that relies on improvisation to a large extent, I’ve come to think that familiarity often breeds not contempt, but feelings of closeness and instant communication. For Beginningless, the trio played live in the studio with each member utilizing an array of electronic tools in real time. Some tracks are more effects-oriented than others, but the trio’s music never fails to draw you into their world. Definitely worth a listen. 

Northern Spy NS 180; John Raymond (tpt, flgh, effects) Anna Butterss (ac b, effects) Ben Lumsdaine (d, effects); Los Angeles, CA, February 22-23, 2025; Faced Round/ Very Large Numbers/ From the Corners/ Parallax/ Serene/ Beginningless/ Pacific/ Open Wide the Big Arms/ Sideways; 38:42. northernspy.music

Clifford Jordan: Night Of The Mark VII

     Tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan had a lengthy career, recording over 40 albums as a leader from 1957 through 1991 and consistently working with some of the best musicians on the hard bop scene. His longest association was with pianist Cedar Walton, who he first recorded with on a 1960 J.J. Johnson date for Columbia. One of Jordan’s stand-out sessions was his 1975 live recording for Muse, Night Of The Mark VII, which was just been reissued on vinyl by Zev Feldman’s Time Traveler Recording series. Walton is on hand, and he’s joined in the all-star rhythm section by bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins. Jordan was celebrating the receipt of his new Selmer Mark VII saxophone in Paris, and figured the best way to break in his new horn was to play it on stage. The quartet is cooking from the start, and there’s no letup over the duration of the set. Walton contributes one tune to the proceedings (Midnight Waltz, often revisited by the pianist), and Jordan offers his best known tune (The Highest Mountain). Sam Jones’ One For Amos is another composition frequently performed by Jordan in a variety of contexts. The set list is filled out by a powerhouse rendition of Bill Lee’s John Coltrane and a stroll through Thelonious Monk’s Blue Monk. Jordan, Walton, Jones, and Higgins made a lot of great music in the Seventies, and if you’re not already acquainted with this quartet, Night Of The Mark VII is a great place to start. 

Time Traveler TT-M007; Clifford Jordan (ts) Cedar Walton (p) Sam Jones (b) Billy Higgins (d); Paris, March 26, 1975; John Coltrane/ Highest Mountain/ Blue Monk/ Midnight Waltz/ One For Amos; 43:06. 

Wadada Leo Smith: Constellations And Hemispheres

     The pieces on Constellations And Hemispheres, the latest communiqué from trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, are drawn from various sessions recorded over a five year period. Four different ensembles are represented, with plenty of overlapping personnel. Smith’s echo-laden trumpet floats over the top, like a visitation from another sound world. His drifting pieces strike me as spiritual exercises lightly disguised as extended meditations in sound. Most of the time, the focus is on Smith’s endlessly expressive trumpet, but there are sections for some of his associates to come to the fore. Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, whose bold playing bolster Dark Energy, has collaborated with Smith a few times, notably with 2024's Angel Falls, a duet project. Most of the other musicians, notably drummer Pheeroan akLaff, have worked with Smith on a variety of projects, and it’s a special pleasure to hear vibraphonist Bobby Naughton back on record after a long absence. Deep Canyons on Mars, starting out with the wildly distorted electric basses of Bill Laswell and Melvin Gibbs, changes abruptly at the five-minute mark as akLaff’s cymbals and Naughton’s gentle vibraphone strikes usher in some hard blowing by Smith. For Meditation on Love, Smith plays without any echo, just his raw trumpet sound leading Naughton, akLaff, Lamar Smith on electric guitar, and a pair of percussionists. All in all, a fascinating compilation from the immensely talented octogenarian, well worth hearing. 

Burning Ambulance; Wadada Leo Smith (tpt) with Diamonds* (Sylvie Courvoisier, p; Marcus Gilmore, d), Nda Kultur# (Bobby Naughton, vib; Lamar Smith, el g; Mauro Refosco, Brian Jarawa Gray, perc; Pheeroan akLaff, d), Blue Dreams+ (Nda Kultur band plus Bill Laswell, Melvin Gibbs, el b), Springtime 5@ (Naughton, Laswell, Gibbs, akLaff); New Haven, CT, 2017-2022; Dark Energy*/ Lake Tanganyika#/ Dark Matter, Particles of Light, Mirror of the Unseen*/ Deep Canyons on Mars@/ Meditation on Love#; 59:13. burningambulancemusic.bandcamp.com

Bobby Watson: Continuum

 

   The late great Art Blakey had a lot of roles, as drummer, bandleader, and astute observer of young talent ready for his Jazz Messengers. A key role was as a teacher, helping new musicians in his group learn thing like pacing a set and comportment on the bandstand before turning them loose to lead their own groups. Alto saxophonist Bobby Watson was a Jazz Messenger from 1977-1981, and on his latest release, Continuum, he shows that he learned a lot from his tenure there. The sextet here includes younger musicians like trumpeter Wallace Roney, Jr., trombonist Kysen Ellis, and pianist Jordan Williams. Joining Williams in the rhythm section are long-time associate Curtis Lundy on bass and the veteran Victor “Yahya” Jones on drums. This effective rhythm team provides just the right bluesy and soulful cushion for the front line. There are plenty of exciting solos scattered throughout the hour, including a fluid Roney solo and a flowing piano interlude by Williams on Pappy’s Prophecy, a tune written by bassist Lundy, Ellis’ carefully constructed solo on Watson’s Beatitudes, and Roney's fleet soloing on the closing Letter to Bobby. Watson is at his best on Mal Waldron’s classic Soul Eyes with a passionately engaging solo. In addition to the enjoyment of this release, there’s the anticipation of hearing more in the future from Wallace Roney, Jr., Kysen Ellis, and Jordan Williams. Recommended. 

HighNote HCD 7362; Wallace Roney, Jr. (tpt) Kysen Ellis (tbn) Bobby Watson (as) Jordan Williams (p) Curtis Lundy (b) Victor “Yahya” Jones (d); NYC, no dates specified; On the One/ Brothers Mine (The Six R’s)/ Carter’s Way (For Larry)/ Pappy’s Prophecy/ Soft Shoe/ Soul Eyes/ Beatitudes/ Karita/ Letter to Bobby; 61:24. www.jazzdepot.com 

Brandon Seabrook: Utility Modern

   On blues records back in the Fifties you’d often hear the singer signal an instrumental break by hollering something like “c’mon boys, make a racket!” Making a racket seems to be a chief concern of guitarist/banjoist Brandon Seabrook and his dynamite quartet on Utility Modern. With fellow guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Rashaan Carter on bass, and Marcus Gilmore on drums, this band makes quite a racket on this irresistible program of Seabrook originals. His tunes tend to have attention deficit disorder, with unexpected changes in tempo, volume, and attitude the rule. The guitar parts, particularly when both Seabrook and Frisell are playing electric instruments, often have rapidly played interlocking call and response riffs. Watching a video for The Guitar Is A Weather Event, Even that’s available on the album’s Bandcamp page, Frisell seemed delightfully surprised at what Seabrook was playing and responding with his own trenchant replies. It’s great to hear Frisell sounding so good and being musically challenged after some of his recent efforts have bordered on the soporific. With Carter taking a upfront role with fat bass lines, and the always impressive Gilmore on drums, this quartet is ready to take on whatever Seabrook’s imagination comes up with. Frisell and Seabrook’s frisky back-and-forth on The Guitar Is A Weather Event, Even, is one of the many high points of this set. Another is the delightfully eccentric guitar solo, probably by Seabrook, in the middle of Document and Tapestry. This is one tune that maintains a mood for its entire length without taking any noisy tangents. Seabrook writes that he intended “this music to sound like one giant guitar: a single instrument whose technical boundaries are stretched, blurred, and at times completely shattered.” That’s absolutely the sound that the band achieves on this truly impressive effort. Heartily recommended. 

Out Of Your Head Records OOYH 049 (lp and cd); Brandon Seabrook (el & ac g, bjo) Bill Frisell (el & ac g) Rashaan Carter (el b) Marcus Gilmore (d); Brooklyn, NY, no dates specified; Crater For Ascending Angles/ The Serial Fabulist/ Star-Crossed Phantasms/ Once Upon A Time in the Quest/ Document and Tapestry/ Membrane Soundtable/ The Guitar Is A Weather Event, Even/ Tapestry and Document; 43:52. www.outofyourheadrecords.com

Asaf Yuria: In Light of a New Moon

     It’s always a pleasure to hear fresh versions of tunes that just aren’t played much these days. After all, how often do you hear Hank Mobley’s Hipsippy Blues or John Hicks’ After the Morning. The carefully curated repertoire is one reason to listen to tenor saxophonist Asaf Yuria’s quartet release, In Light of a New Moon. A better reason is the band he’s put together for this date. Pianist George Cables, one of Yuria’s musical teachers, and a favored accompanist for sax players like Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper, is in top form. Bassist Omer Avital, who uses Yuria in his quintet, acquits himself very well, fitting in beautifully with his elders in the rhythm section. And what can you say about drummer Billy Hart, another mentor to Yuria, whose dynamic presence and unbridled swing have anchored so many memorable recording sessions? Veteran trumpeter Joe Magnarelli appears on two tracks, adding another distinctive voice to the proceedings. Yuria has a fluid and compelling sound on tenor, with a disconcerting habit of occasionally ending his phrases with a high-end squeal. His melodic temperament comes to the fore on a delicately moving version of the lone standard, Jimmy Van Heusen’s ever-elegant Polka Dots and Moonbeams, played as a duet by Yuria and Cables. The pianist contributes two original tunes. Circle, the title track for his 1979 Contemporary album, gets a relaxed bossa treatment. EVC, with its sinuous melody, is reprised from his 2002 quartet date Looking For The Light. Here it’s mostly a vehicle for a twisting and turning solo by Yuria. Cables takes a few commanding bars to bring the tune down to earth, and Yuria takes it out with some conversational playing alongside Cables’ piano. Yuria’s sole original is the uptempo burner Praise of Shadows, featuring a beautifully intricate solo by trumpeter Magnarelli. Dizzy Gillespie’s Con Alma is the closing track. Recorded at the end of the session in one take, it’s performed by Yuria and Cables in slower than usual tempo, putting the emphasis on the melody. A solid and rewarding date, heartily recommended. 

Jojo Records; Asaf Yuria (ts) Joe Magnarelli (tpt on *) George Cables (p) Omer Avital (b) Billy Hart (d); Englewood Cliffs, NJ, no dates specified; After the Morning/ Hipsippy Blues*/Polka Dots and Moonbeams/ Circle/ Praise of Shadows*/ EVC/ Con Alma; 40:58. www.jojorecords.com