Especially the Traveller Tomor

What We Live
Metalanguage
Jazz | Sep 2002

Reviews

Craig Matsumoto
Reviewed 2002-10-03
WHAT WE LIVE

Local free-jazz trio that creates improvised journeys, staying in the jazz motif but with plenty of wandering. Overall they seem to go for a gently flowing sound, but they’re capable of the blurry energy of, say, Peter Brotzmann. Makes for great late-night listening, just a little bit dark and serious.

This is the group’s sixth album. Drummer Donald Robinson is a particular treat, with subtle and tasteful fills and the occasional extroverted break. Larry Ochs (of ROVA Saxophone Quartet) gets unavoidably squeaky on sopranino sax but has a nice meaty sound on tenor. Bassist Lisle Ellis, who’s the founder of the trio, alternates between simple grooves and expansive wandering.

All tracks start rather quiet but build well.

1- Shrill and towering at the start, nice. Drum solo, then a percolating midtempo groove.
2- Nice slow groove w/squawky sax that’s sometimes an awkward fit
3- Low-level disjoint groove
4- Falls into a midtempo bass groove. At -32:00, starts an aggressive tenor-sax segment. Kind of a cookin’ ending.

Recent airplay

Especially the Traveller Tomorrow [excerpt: coda]
As Yet Unknown
Memory SelectFeb 04, 2005
Spelled Backwards, Especially the Traveller Tomorrow [excerpt], As Yet Unknown
Memory SelectOct 08, 2004
Xanic Rides
Umami Jazz ProgramOct 07, 2004
As Yet Unknown
Memory SelectFeb 20, 2004
As Yet Unknown
Memory SelectNov 22, 2002

Charting

2002-10-07 — 2002-12-09 Jazz
Week EndingAirplays
Nov 24 1
Nov 17 1
Nov 3 1
Oct 27 2
Oct 20 1

Track listing

1. As Yet Unknown
2. Spelled Backwards
3. Xanic Rides
4. Especially the Traveller ...