Trio cs855

After a long (& not really intended...) run of music from Europe in this space, I want to return to North America for a recording (of unknown date) from Santa Fe — albeit appearing (suddenly) on Creative Sources — i.e. the relatively brief & certainly modestly titled, Trio: David Forlano (live sampling & electronics) is new here, but active of late in general, particularly with guitarist Barry Chabala (who also lives in New Mexico), e.g. trio albums Morning Music (with Clara Byom on Chabala's Roeba Recordings) & Juno (with drummer Drew Gowran on Confront) appearing earlier this year. Electronics can be wild at times on all three trio albums, but it does seem that Trio — including Chris Jonas (saxophones & e.g. recently of Braxton's Sax QT (Lorraine) 2022, also featuring mirroring electronics itself...) & Gregg Koyle (percussionist from Santa Fe classical groups) — ends up being more focused, even modernist one might say (as opposed to the sort of electric jungle vibe of e.g. Juno...). So while Chabala might tend toward almost a folk sound, Jonas suggests modern austerity (& e.g. cool jazz, perhaps...), clear lines & precise figurations at unorthodox angles — often rendered into a sort of polyphony by Forlano (who organized the recording session), also incisively. Percussion is frequently metallic then, accenting or driving what can sound like a quasi-classic free jazz sax trio at times (including in its explorations of timing...), but with new sax lines branching off..., or even senses of "rewind" or (brief) cartoonish vocal samples, twisting.... There's a surprising sense of space cultivated as well — also not unlike Forlano's vibe with Chabala at times — a sort of mysterious outdoorsiness that might suggest New Mexico, involving an overall sense of opening & easing then as well. (There's thus some invocation of the US West, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in particular, I suppose.... And I continue to associate landscapes of the American West with "new age" music more generally....) So, true to its title, Trio does come off rather modestly, but also rewards close attention right from the start, capturing a distinctive (yet tradition-based...) & focused sense of form & development. Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts