TRIOS RULE

By Dee Dee McNeil

February 15, 2023

GIORGI MIKADZE TRIO – “FACE TO FACE” – PeeWee Records

Giorgi Mikadze, piano/arrangements/composer; Francois Moutin, acoustic bass; Raphael Pannier, drums.

A flamboyant piano introduction leaps from my CD player.  The tune is “Satchidao” composed by pianist Giorgi Mikadze.  Could it be referring to Louie ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong, I wonder?  His press package says it’s more a nod to a well-known melody traditionally sung during Georgian wrestling matches.  Mikadze’s two handed attack on the 88-keys is exciting and technically dramatic.  Raphael Pannier spurs the original composition forward with powerhouse drums. 

Track #2 settles down to a sweet ballad tempo, with Pannier picking up brushes to ‘swish’ the groove softly beneath the lovely melody of a song called, “Not Easy to Repeat.”  I love the bass lines that dance beneath Mikadze’s piano once he settles into a slow groove arrangement.  Francois Moutin has a distinctive voice of his own on double bass and often employs a contrapuntal melody to conversate with Mikadze’s self-expression on piano.  I enjoy both of their melodic presentations. However, I do wish the bass had been turned up more in the final ‘mix,’ because his musical voice is so creative and necessary to the rhythm section. 

Finally, on Track #3, I hear Francois Moutin step into the spotlight on acoustic bass to deliver his rich solo. This is a tune called “Dolls are Laughing” and it was written by a Georgian composer.  In fact, Mikadze’s trio celebrates several famous Georgian composers on this “Face to Face” record release.  He studied at Berklee and the Manhattan School of Music under a presidential scholarship, where he developed a deep interest in jazz.

“I started to ask myself, why should I play American standards when there are numerous melodies written by Georgian composers?  I love the America Songbook.  That’s how I learned to play jazz.  But I would like to offer the world a Georgian Songbook and share all these beautiful melodies from my country,” Giorgi Mikadze shared in his press package.

Giorgi Mikadze calls home Tbilisi, Georgia.   Tbilisi is the largest city of Georgia, a representative democracy governed as a unitary parliamentary republic. They proudly acknowledge their own language and culture.  This trio album celebrates Mikadze’s first recording using a traditional piano trio.  This format is a departure from his previous ventures exploring Georgian music.  He released an album called “Georgian Microjamz” with an innovative guitarist, David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, in 2020.  Before that, he released “Georgian Overtones” that was a combination of jazz, chamber music and Georgian polyphonic singing.  “Face to Face” is the first time this pianist has produced a purely jazz recording.  It introduces us to his cultural roots, that are absolutely lovely.

“Georgian classical composers of the 60s, 70s and 80s were heavily influenced by the harmony and freedom of jazz music,” Mikadze explains.  

I know that Russia, like some other autocratic countries around the world, once banned jazz music.  Mikadze mentions that many Georgian people tried to find the broadcasts of ‘Voice of America’ to hear the forbidden music of jazz on their radios. Georgians are a strong, revolutionary people with their own ideas, culture, and concepts.  Jazz has long been a representation of freedom and resistance to the status quo.  This album is an amazing and beautiful tribute to Georgian culture, played by three super talented musicians.

The sub-title of “Face to Face: Georgian Songbook Vol. 1” hints that there will be more volumes to follow and that they will celebrate the admirable piano mastery of Giorgi Mikadze and the Georgian music culture. On this project, we lock hands warmly like good friends, sharing their own culture with the American classical music of jazz.

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SAM ROSS – “LIVE AT THE MIRA ROOM, VOL. 11” – Independent Label

Sam Ross, piano/Fender Rhodes; Simba Distle, upright & elec. Bass; Dr. Mimi Mured, drums.

This is one of those albums where you immediately are intoxicated by the piano player’s music and his recording transports you right into the club, along with the enthusiastic audience you hear applauding loudly.  Sam Ross is so good at what he does.  Immediately I am drawn into his swinging piano presentation as he and his bassist swing a song called “Breakfast for Dinner.”  After a couple of choruses of that song, Dr. Mimi Mured drops in on drums and the trio punches harder than Joe Louis at his prime. This is classic bebop! 

Sam Ross has composed every song on this album and even designed the CD cover.  A strong bass line opens a tune called “New Shoes” with the drums slapping the groove into place.  Ross enters with the blues on display and shows us his soulful side.  His press package says that he’s an artist who lives in Long Beach, California and I immediately want to go out and hear him play live.  On this ‘shoes’ tune, the bass takes an impressive solo and Dr. Mured builds the arrangement by adding colorful drums and energy to the piece. Ross can lay a groove down like Les McCann or Gene Harris.  His nimble fingers explore the keyboard and deliver not only soulful rhythms but memorable melodies.  This tune is followed by another original titled, “What is TOP.”   It begins with a repetitious six-note melody, then stretches out and becomes a real ‘cooker’ that invites a spirited bass solo and spotlights the drums on a trading-fours part of the tune, with a full drum solo at the end. “New Socks” is a funk tune that reminds me of something Herbie Hancock might have played, more electric than the other arrangements have been, and Ross is playing a Fender Rhodes electric piano on this one.  The trio closes out with Sam Ross tributing Chick Corea with a tune he penned called “Dear Chick.”  Every song on this album showcases Sam Ross’s composer abilities.  But there is something else that must be told.  It’s a very unusual aspect to this recording.  Simba Diatis, listed as the bass player, is actually an anagram of Midi Bassist and Dr. Mimi Mured does not exist either.  The drummer is a program called Midi Drummer and Sam Ross is actually playing every instrument of this trio. What?? !!  Yes, and playing all three instruments dynamically.  Sam Ross used the lock-down period caused by the COVID pandemic to master production, playing the piano parts, and programming the bass and drums using Loic Pro X.  He did this album solo, all by himself, and it was good enough to fool me. There is no Mira Room.  He simply invited thirty of his friends to attend his solo concert and asked them to react the way they would in a real nightclub. 

Sam Ross earned degrees in both Sociology and Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan.  Of course, he has performed jazz with other human beings at clubs and festivals around the Southern California area. He also prides himself in being a jazz educator and enjoys inspiring his students.  In 2023, Ross won the Downbeat Graduate Student Arranging Award for his version of “Blue in Green.”

This album sparkles with brilliance and ingenuity, and it features Sam Ross in top form as not only a pianist and composer, but also an innovator, arranger and leader of his own unique and well-played trio, a trio that he created himself playing every instruments.  Impressive!

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SKIP WILKINS TRIO – “IN MORAVA / NA MORAVE” –  New Port Line Records

Skip Wilkins, piano/composer; Josef  “Pepa” Feco, double bass; Tomas Hobzek, drums.

Perhaps you have never heard of the Deer Head Inn, located inside the Delaware Water Gap district of Pennsylvania.  It is a revered site that has promoted, sponsored, and invited jazz to its stage for years.  Among the name players who have performed and recorded ‘live’ at the Deer Head Inn are Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Phil Woods, Paul Motian, and Jim Snidero, to name only a handful.  Pianist and composer Skip Wilkins knows the spot very well because, when he’s not living in Central Europe, he lives there.  The Deer Head Inn is Wilkins’ home.

This album is named after the European city of Moravia, located in the Eastern-most part of the Czech Republic. This ancient kingdom of Moravia (that Wilkins refers to as Morava) was incorporated into the kingdom of Bohemia and later, in the 20^th Century, it became part of the modern state of Czechoslovakia or the Czech Republic.  This land is a far call from the Pocono Mountain community of Eastern Pennsylvania where the Deer Head Inn is located. What they have in common is that both places love jazz.  Wilkins made his first trip to Prague, a city in the Czech Republic, back in 2007 and fell in love with the countryside and the people.  He teaches there and tours all over Europe, using his apartment in the Czech Republic as a second home.

“In Morava there is a gentleness to the people, an earnestness, a special way of living, a joy for living, and a capacity for experiencing the present moment that carries me away every time I visit.  If the music cries “In Morava,” the people cry with it.  If it shouts, they shout.  I am at home in Morava.” 

Four of Skip Wilkins’ original songs on this album were composed in the Czech Republic. The rest were written in the United States. His titles are inspired by experiences and often come first before the music is even written. The trio opens with “My Beautiful Stranger” that has a rich, captivating melody.  Josef “Pepa” Feco introduces himself with a double bass solo.  Wilkins pumps his left hand to lock in with Tomas Hobzek on drums. 

The tune “Nearly Good Wine” surfaced while performing at a jazz club in Bavaria. The fellows were on a ‘break’ when one of them was asked how the wine tasted that he was sipping?  He responded, “Oh, it’s nearly good.”  Wilkins jotted the response down and later wrote a song to match the title.  It’s straight-ahead jazz, with Wilkins’ fingers flying swiftly across the keys.  While trading fours, we get a strong understanding of the Hobzek drum skills during this arrangement.  Wilkins has included a booklet in the album that explains in detail every song he has written and why.   One guest on this recording, Rostislav “Rosta” Fras plays tenor saxophone.  Sadly, this musician and close friend of the trio players lost his battle with cancer at 44-years young, and never got to hear this album in its completion.  You will appreciate his soulful horn on the ballad Kaja (take one and take two).  This song celebrates the influential Czech pianist and composer, Karel Ruzicka, who lost his battle with cancer in 2017. Wilkins permeates this song with a tender sadness.  The title tune, “In Morava” has piano and bass joining tones during the introduction, playing harmonically, single notes together in a slow, classical narrative that grabs the attention.  When the jazzy polka-like groove kicks in, we are transported to another place and time.  This is an album that locks arms across continents, with both players and compositions representing the best of America and the Czech Republic. 

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DAVE BAYLES TRIO – “LIVE AT THE UPTOWNER” – Calligram Records

Dave Bayles, drums; Russ Johnson, trumpet/composer; Clay Schaub, bass/composer.

This chord-less trio spotlights Russ Johnson on trumpet with bandleader, Dave Bayles holding the project tightly in place with drums that act like nuts and bolts.  Clay Schaub brings his bass to the presentation and now we have a very unique and creative trio.  The first, second and third tunes on this album are composed by bassist, Clay Schaub.  “Fitzroy” begins this trio’s original journey before a ‘live’ audience at the Uptowner, celebrated as the oldest bar in Wisconsin. The trio’s second song is called “Third Birthday” (written for Clay Schaub’s daughter, Miriam) that allows Schaub to take an opportunity to feature a long and creative bass solo. Afterwards, the curtains open to a trumpet solo by Johnson.  The Bayles drums tap-dance across my listening room, spurring on the music. 

Bayles selected his bandmates with the intention of exploring new territory.  He explained it this way:

“The pandemic forced us all to think about things and I wanted to do something out of my familiar zone.  Russ was the perfect person for that, and Clay was the other perfect person.  It’s opened me up to a lot of things musically that I felt I needed to do,” Bayles expressed.

“The job, as far as the music here, is to not get tangled up in judgements of good or bad, but to keep the channel open and carry on with intention and integrity,” the bass man added.

I’m swept up by the hard bop of “The Illusionist’s Sister” a tune that quickly becomes a favorite on this album.  This one was composed by Russ Johnson and his trumpet interplay with Schaub’s bass is spectacular.  Of course, it wouldn’t swing without Dave Bayles on drums, power-punching the tune alive. Johnson also wrote the eighth and ninth song on this album.  On “Waking Hour” they play for over nine minutes and on “Horizontal heartburn” they mix a beautiful melody with a long-improvised trumpet solo and the brilliant drums of Bayles.

Of his role in the trio, bandleader, Dave Bayles says, “It’s not just time keeping.  It’s being another voice in the composition.  It can be gentle at times, bombastic other times.”

Truly, we get a taste of his bombastic attitude on “The Illusionist’s Sister” and on the composition “Shuffle Boil” you get a huge taste of funk. The Bayles drums shuffle you into this Thelonious Monk tune and hold the energy in place like a fiery-hot branding iron.  Dave Bayles trembles drumsticks against subservient cymbals during their presentation of “Comanche,” and on “Quirks” the trio takes us to New Orleans with rhythm and attitude. Bayles is precise and colorful on his trap drums.  He knows just when to add spark and excitement and when to shuffle the rhythm into perfect place.  This is an arrangement that will have you tapping your toes and snapping your fingers. Composed by Schaub, it’s another one of my favorite tunes on this album. 

The trio slides Dave Bayles into the spotlight on their closing tune with a great title, “Horizontal Heartburn.”  Given free rein, Bayles rides his trap drums across space like a rodeo master.  It’s clear why so many jazz icons have called on the Bayles drum mastery like Barry Harris, Frank Morgan, and Charles McPherson. This is a drummer for all seasons.

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ROGER TILTON TRIO – “MOSTLY BOSSA” – Skipper Productions

Roger Tilton, piano/composer; Henry ‘The Skipper’ Franklin, bass; Yayo Morales, drums.

If Bossa Nova is your thing, you will treasure each tune on this trio recording.  They open with Jobim’s classic, “Dindi.”  This is followed by the Horace Silver composition, “Tokyo Blues.”  “Bossa for Debbie” is a Roger Tilton original tune. Each song is executed well, but what I keep looking for is the excitement, the drive, the emotion from this talented pianist.  On “What is this thing Called Love” they swing, and Tilton’s fingers skip over the keys like happy children at play.  Yayo Morales takes a spirited solo on drums.  Finally, on “Blue Bossa” I hear some energy from the pianist.  ‘The Skipper’ takes an emotional solo on double bass and makes that bass talk, telling us stories with musical notes that tumble over each other in precise and melodic ways. The ending of the song is well planned and executed, unlike several other tunes where Tilton just drops the ending like a hot pot in unsuspecting hands.

Tilton plays “Brigas Nunca Mais” with a light and joyful arrangement, buoyed by the Morales drumsticks.  For a brief four minutes, Tilton interprets a Monk tune (Hackensack) and steps away from Bossa to Straight-ahead.  He feels comfortable performing this Thelonious classic, but once again, I keep waiting for the explosion in Tilton’s presentation.  It’s that magic that happens when the audience gasps and breaks into shouts of approval or ecstatic handclaps. The trio closes with one of my favorite Jobim tunes, “Dreamer,” returning to the Bossa groove and floating like a kite on a cool windy afternoon. This is a well-played trio album that is warm and cushy like a stuffed lion.  But sometimes, deep inside, you long to hear that lion growl and roar.  That didn’t happen.

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SATOKO FUJII TOKYO TRIO – “JET BLACK” – Libra Records

Satoko Fujii, piano/composer; Takashi Sugawa, bass; Ittetsu Takemura, drums.

For the Avant-garde taste, brilliant pianist, and composer, Satoko Fujii offers us her Tokyo Trio album.  Along with bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura, Satoko makes a startling first impression with her staccato piano introduction and the long seconds of silence, in between, before Takemura’s drums jolt the listener back from straining to hear what is coming next. This opens their first track titled, “Along the Way” with Takashi Sugawa bowing his double bass and pulling tones out of it like sticky taffy, I am intrigued. 

Although Avant-garde groups are appreciated and accepted in Western culture, bands like this are a rarity in Japan.  The clash of dissonant notes and exploration of various tempos and unpredictable chord changes can challenge any listener who may be looking for more melody and structure.  This improvised journey into the minds of three gifted and awesome jazz musicians is like stumbling through the jungle in sandals.  You never know what you may discover, or which arrangement is going to bite you into awareness. Sometimes it’s a little scary.  At other times, there is genuine peace and beauty in the production. 

This is a study of moods and technique, blended like salty cake batter to show another side of a sweet treat.  It’s poetry in music.  Prose delivered by a mime.  I find myself sitting up attentively, awaiting the next musical phrase with anticipation and wonder.  This music will make you pay attention.

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MALLEUS TRIO – “ON/OFF” – Canada Council for the Arts

Ben Brown, drums/composer; Dominic Conway, tenor saxophone/composer; Geordie Hart, upright bass/composer.

The first song sounds like someone standing at a light switch and switching it off and on.  It is titled “On/Off” so, I suppose my perception of the music is what the composers intended.  However, I found this first tune made me nervous.  The same way I would feel if someone was switching my lights on and off in repetition. 

New to my ears, this trio has become a staple of the jazz festival circuit in Canada.  Ben Brown on drums, Dominic Conway on tenor saxophone and Geordie Hart on double bass present a tightly woven package of Avant-garde arrangements.  This is their third album, titled for the first tune. 

Their productions grow from Brown’s rhythmic drums and are cemented in place by Hart’s upright bass lines.  Hart is definitely the solidifying basement of this chord-less project.  Dominic Conway flies and flutters above the fray on his tenor saxophone.  Their production is unorthodox and perhaps a reflection of the Malleus trio’s eclectic versatility.  For fifteen years, bassist and composer, Geordie Hart has applied his talents to a wide variety of music, including bandleader of the Boom Booms who are more soul/pop than jazz.  The saxophonist of this trio, Dominic Conway, is also a member of numerous groups including working alongside of internationally celebrated Vancouver, Canada’s popular improviser artist, Peggy Lee, as well as jazz groups and ensembles that celebrate funk. The trio’s drummer, Ben Brown, has been celebrated in a number of European venues for his experimental music and powerful drum skills.

On Track #4 the Malleus trio settles down into a ballad composition that offers some relief from the ‘on-the-edge’ productions that preceeded this song.  It’s called “Game Theory.”  I sigh in relief.  Brown shows off his mallet skills on his drum kit.  Conway builds the melody, climbing the scale like a man on a musical ladder. On Track #6, the blues finally pokes a defiant head into the picture.  The tune is named “Big City.”  This one transports me into a juke joint.  It’s a place I’m familiar with and this music makes my toes tap.  On the other side of the coin, “Stagger Step” is a dirge.  The trio slaps me from a happy tap to a funeral procession.

On the whole, this band is composed of three friends who know each other very well.  Together they have composed every one of the fourteen songs they offer us.  They fuse together comfortably, improvising and pushing the limits of their instruments and their imaginations.  Fasten your seatbelts!

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CHRISTIAN FABIAN TRIO – “HIP TO THE SKIP” – Spicerack Records

Christian Fabian, electric bass/composer; Matt King, keyboards/composer; Jason Marsalis, drums/composer.

Christian Fabian brings Fusion jazz to the forefront, with his electric bass leading the way. The first tune on this album is the title tune, “Hip to the Skip” penned by Fabian. Jason Marsalis is dynamic on drums and pushes the music ahead like a snowplow. This production is icy-hot, providing warmth like those patches meant to heal aching muscles. Once applied, you just feel better. This music is both healing, happy and regenerative.  It will lift your mood and startle your creative juices awake.

“Jason and I had been thinking for a while about doing an electric project, and it occurred to me that Matt King would be the perfect fit for us. Since Jason came up from New Orleans to New Jersey frequently for work, we were able to schedule our first session on September 14, 2021. … We finished the last recording on March of 2023,” Fabian explains in his press package.

This band covers the Bobby Timmon’s standard, “Moanin’” and they do it their way. Matt King, on keyboard, supplies fresh improvisational ideas and a stinging ‘funk’ groove on this tune.  This is followed by a deep dive into the Joe Zawinul composition “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” Jason Marsalis opens the familiar tune on drums and is quickly joined by Fabian’s electric bass line. They rejuvenate this song in leaps and bounds, slapping modulations into place like licks upside the head.  Even “This Can’t Be Love” is painted with a brand-new face that crowns the tune into fusion royalty, tagged with a shuffle beat.  King contributes an original composition called, “Incognito” to the mix, with Fabian double-timing the bass line beneath the catchy melody and also improvising madly.  This is Straight-ahead funk with Marsalis supplying the drive and excitement on drums. Matt King sounds beautiful, jazzy, and inspired on the keyboard both on his original song and the follow up traditional tune, “When the Saints Go Marching In.”  This popular song is arranged with a slow, bluesy drive that makes me sit-up and take note. Marsalis contributes a song called “Zig 7” to the production.  It’s a lesson in rhythm and soul.  Matt King adds an organ to the production that sweeps this listener into a fresh place, punctuated by staccato breaks and Fabian’s bold bass. Fabian locks hands with the Marsalis drums, as free as two children skipping through a field of fun.

Here is a trio project that will both entertain and surprise you.  Their press package explains it’s the first time both Christian Fabian and Jason Marsalis have recorded a complete tribute to funk and fusion jazz.  I hope it won’t be their last!

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