Jeff Williams (drums); Carmen Staaf (piano);
Michael Formanek (double bass).
(Review
by Hugh C)
Drummer
Jeff Williams has played with some of the big names in jazz over the
years. Lately, he has been playing in
saxophonist Dan Blake’s quartet with pianist Leo Genovese and bassist Dmitry
Ishenko. One time when Genovese was
unavailable, Carmen Staaf stepped in.
Williams felt an immediate connection with her playing and they talked
about the possibility of a trio. He then
ran into Formanek, with whom he had gigged in their early days in New York in
the ‘70s. The idea of this trio was
formed and bloomed from thereon in – hence the album title.
All but
one of eleven tracks on the album are composed by one or more of the members of
the trio. The first track, Scattershot developed as they warmed up,
getting their headphone mix together. This also warms up the listener for the
ride ahead. Another Time
(Williams) takes us on at a slower tempo but with a definite progression,
Staaf’s piano to the fore with a bass solo by Formanek where the other trio
members draw back, but do not drop out. Short
Tune (Staaf) is more syncopated and in Williams’ words “has a certain
quirkiness”, but carries the listener with it, waiting for the next
surprise. Short bass and drum solos
intersperse the ensemble playing. Scrunge
starts in tricky 7/8 time, segueing seamlessly into Search Me; both tunes
by Williams.
After
the frenetic 7/8, calm is restored by Formanek’s Ballad of the Weak with
space to appreciate the tonal qualities of the double bass in the extended
solo. New York Landing (Staaf) is
a bluesy upbeat romp which will get even the most recalcitrant jazzer nodding
their head in time to the music. She
Can’t Be a Spy (Williams) is apparently named after a New York Times piece:
“She can’t be a spy – look what she did with the hydrangeas”.
Air
Dancing is the only track on the album not by one of the trio members. Buster Williams passed the charts directly to
Jeff Williams himself. This is a
beautiful slow number with atmospheric contributions from all three trio
members. A Word Edgewise
(Formanek) features fast fingerwork by both bassist and pianist and pushes on
at a pace towards Northwest (Williams) which has a more expansive groove
and allows us a breather. Staaf’s
meditative, gamelan-like Chant, with fine arco bass by Formanek, brings
the journey to a close.
This is
a class album by class musicians. There
are no fireworks, but it is all quality.
Some of the tunes are older than others, being new piano trio
rearrangements of earlier numbers, but as Jeff Williams quotes Thelonius Monk
as saying when asked why he plays the same tunes all the time: “I want people to hear them!”
Hugh C.
Bloom is on Whirlwind Recordings (WR4737) and is currently available.
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