Don't let the title fool you, this isn't a trio with banks of violins, violas, cellos and double basses. No sir! True there are strings - ten of them. Six are on Dechter's guitar and four on Frank's bass.
Yes, it's the traditional drummerless piano trio as per the early records of Oscar Peterson and Nat Cole and it has never sounded as good since - until now that is! The Mike Jones Trio have built on the foundations laid in the studios of Verve and Decca back in the forties and early fifties and, with modern recording techniques, kept the memory of those legendary giants alive whilst setting their own stall out at the same time.
Recorded live before an appreciative audience at Vic's Supper Club in Las Vegas, the trio swings the way trios used to swing before 'original' compositions became the in thing. As Tony Bennett famously said: "All of a sudden you had to write your own songs as if Kern and Porter weren't good enough"!
Well the works of George Gershwin, Jimmy McHugh, Ray Noble, Johnny Mercer, Alec Wilder, Marvin Fisher and Peterson himself are good enough for these guys. In particular I was delighted to see Fisher's Destination Moon in the set list. It's a song I've loved ever since I heard it on a Dinah Washington album. It should be played more often.
As well as Jones' piano lines, which are well versed in the tradition, Dechter too catches the ear. Described in the blurb as a guitar prodigy I pictured him as a pre-teen who has yet to start shaving. Further investigation revealed him to be 40-year-old with a beard - don't they grow up quickly?! Certainly his playing defies age and is probably as good as anyone working the same side of the street today.
Basswise Alex Frank is the logical heir to Ray Brown's crown. Melodically and harmonically, both strolling and soloing, he keeps the ship on an even keel. I won't argue against this being my piano record of the year - it's that good. Lance
Previous albums by the Mike Jones Trio (different bass and drums) on BSH:
Lady be Good; Gone With the Wind; Autumn Leaves; Kelly's Blues; Destination Moon; 'Deed I Do; The Very Thought of You; Exactly Like You.
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