1. Isotope
2. Tristessa
3. On Green Troman Street
4. Blue Green
5. 500 Miles High
6. Henniger Flats
7. Once I Loved
8. My Funny Valentine
9. Repetition
10. Autumn Leaves
This is an excellent release from this British trio.
Apparently they have worked with many other groups in their separate
capacities and it was the idea of the people at The Fiddle And Bone
in Birmingham to bring them together for this recording. It was obviously
sheer inspiration on someone's part as the group perform as if they
had been doing nothing else for a long time.
The first thing that struck me about this disc is
the fact that it is not just a piano trio playing a set of standards
as most Jazz followers will have heard ad nauseum. What occurs here
is a carefully thought out and intricately arranged series of performances.
Each item is given a fresh slant and to do this successfully with
such chestnuts as "My Funny Valentine" and "Autumn Leaves" is no mean
achievement - the amount of planning that has gone into this album
is quite remarkable. The trio have the ability both collectively and
independently to have approached this date in the conventional manner
of such groups, that they chose not to is praiseworthy indeed.
The repertoire here is a mix of standards, Jazz classics
and originals -the derivation of the title track should be quite clear
!
It is enjoyable to hear such lesser known pieces
as Joe Henderson's blues "Isotope" with its angular lines and interesting
rhythmic structure and it is one of the highlights,to my ears, in
this set. Troman's own compositions form an interesting and well balanced
complement to the better known pieces. Surely this is the best format
for an album as it introduces new material to the listener whilst
presenting a body of more familiar work.
Instrumentally the players are all out of the top
drawer. Indeed my earlier comment about it being a British group is
purely geographical as they could more than hold their own with their
American counterparts. Steve Tromans is a fluent modern pianist with
a wealth of ideas and roots in many of the earlier players including
Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. Mike Green produces a full sound on the
bass and is an adept soloist. Steve Street is that rarity amongst
drummers in that he has the ability to contribute fully and tastefully
to the whole -he also has the gift of sitting back and just ticking
along to keep the ensemble tight. The real strength of this release,
however, lies in the way that the three musicians work together to
produce a well blended and exciting whole.
Dick Stafford
CD Reviews
AIRGTS02
