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On the aptly (if unimaginatively) named Trio, American electric bassist Steve Swallow joins
forces with two Danish musicians: sax
player Hans Ulrik and drummer Jonas Johansen. At every turn, Swallow demonstrates why he is the
premiere electric jazz bassist of the last two decades. When his trademark 5-string finds the groove
that makes the trio equal partners, Ulrik and Johansen endeavor to keep up with Swallow's power
and
inventiveness. They succeed more often than not, resulting in a highly charged straight-ahead
session.
Johansen's light touch is apropos and especially evident on two Swallow compositions:
"Self Exiting Circuit" and "I Fall Asleep Too Easily." The latter
features a melodic bass opener that descends into a sleepy chordal undulation that allows Ulrik to
lull with his sax. Swallow takes most of the risks
throughout, breathing new life into the classic "After You've Gone" by setting a frantic
pace. On Johansen's "The Girl With The Hair (In All Directions)", a predictable melody is
dressed up and made interesting by the novel inclusion of a Galician pandeiro frame drum
alongside a contemporary rock-edged bass line. "Exactly Backward" is an appealingly
quirky mid-CD respite, featuring a hypnotic drum and bass meld over which Johansen plays a
dissonantly sweet line.
Ulrik shows himself a versatile player able to adapt to a rhythm section that is not satisfied to
serve simply as a slate on which his sax can write melody and doodle improv. Quite the contrary,
drum and bass are high in the mix. They drive Ulrik's sax to sob and cry on the bluesy, though
somewhat timeworn sounding "Brother J" and to natural thick honey on
"It's Blue." Trio ends up being more than a forum for Swallow to display his unique
talents. It highlights that in the right six hands, power and freshness is still possible in the timeless
sax trio format.
This review originally appeared in
AllAboutJazz - New York.
~ Elliott Simon
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Track Listing: 1. Self Exiting Circuit - 4:23
2. Brother - 7:21
3. I Fall Asleep Too Easily - 4:07
4. After You've Gone - 5:13
5. Exactly Backward - 5:05
6. The Girl With the Hair (In All Directions) - 6:13
7. It's Blue - 6:06
8. Tossing and Turning - 7:13
9. Gung KRRR - 5:59
10. Here Comes Everybody - 2:43
Personnel: Hans Ulrik - Tenor and soprano saxophones;
Steve Swallow - Electric bass;
Jonas Johansen - Drums and pandeiro
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