In a perfect balance of artists and repertoire, the trio of Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul offers a dozen compositions by Carla Bley on their luminous Around Again: The Music Of Carla Bley. Drummer Altschul, of course, played some of these tunes when he was in the Paul Bley trio which introduced Closer, Batterie, And Now, the Queen, and Start in the mid-Sixties. That was at the beginning of this master drummer’s career, and a lifetime of wide-ranging experiences make him uniquely suited for this project. Pianist Haarla and bassist Krokfors have performed together frequently over the years in a number of different musical situations. Their intuitive interactions come as no surprise, and the supremely musical Altschul seems to be immediately on their wavelength, with the entire program of a dozen songs recorded on a single day in the studio. The TUM label’s extensive documentation for this session includes revealing statements by the members of the trio, along with biographical notes and comments on the songs and their histories. While it’s a nice bonus to have all those words bringing an added dimension to the enjoyment of this disc, it’s the impeccable playing and the obvious affection of the musicians for one another and for Carla Bley’s music that make Around Again an important and affecting 67 minutes. One of the best releases of the year, absolutely recommended.
TUM 054; Iro Haarla (p) Ulf Krokfors (b) Barry Altschul (d); Helsinki, Finland, November 11, 2015; Closer/ Vashkar/ Batterie/ Ida Lupino/ Around Again/ Olhos de Gato/ Intermission Music/ King Korn/ And Now, the Queen/ Útviklingssang/ Start/ Jesus Maria; 67:01. www.tumrecords.com
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