A deeply interesting album of
progressive jazz
from the Portland trombonist
Michael Vlatkovich
. Abandoning his usual
big band
,
Vlatkovich
instead takes up a small trio (actually a "tritet" by his own account) of bass, drums, and himself on trombone. Joining
in the trio are Swiss classically-oriented bassist
Jonas Tauber
, and fellow Portland drummer
Ken Ollis
. The music is largely improvised, with some structure imparted by
, but the bulk being spontaneous between the artists. With only the three musicians performing, the sound is surprisingly thick and full, with layers of sound overlaying one another expertly. The sound textures can get a bit out of the usual range, a la
free jazz
, but there's just enough structure present to keep it in the '
progressive
' realm instead. The dividing line between
free
and
is, of course, up for debate, and this collection perhaps pushes the debate a bit, but regardless of its classification, the music itself stands up quite well. It's not music for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but it's really not trying to be that either. ~ Adam Greenberg