Threedom

PILC MOUTIN HOENIG: Threedom
Motéma, 2011

MODERN JAZZ – The old Jean-Michel Pilc Trio (which last recorded in 2002) reunites as a collective unit for this set of nine standards and nine improvisations. A quirky but often brooding sound is balanced by the easy familiarity of a long association. Pilc’s piano is rich and aggressive, François Moutin is endlessly eloquent on bass, and Ari Hoenig’s drums seem to go everywhere. A fine album.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 17

1. 7:17 – dark, stormy, and driving
2. 2:33 – playfully bizarre collective
3. 3:53 – daydream becomes march
4. 3:21 – light, oblique interplay
5. 2:34 – deconstructed standard
6. 4:09 – tender, fragile ballad
7. 3:23 – piano pokes at slow drift
8. 1:52 – quiet clockwork mumble
9. 2:32 – mechanized “Giant Steps”
10. 4:37 – flowing, shadowy melody
11. 5:02 – bright, lively, cuban feel
12. 2:11 – delicate, with brisk pulse
13. 5:41 – slow, deeply melancholy
14. 2:12 – funky beat, piano jumps
15. 3:32 – optimism from turbulence
16. 2:52 – standard in a funky stroll
17. 3:28 – brisk bebop flies apart
18. 5:00 – very soft; melodic drums

[ Fo ] - November 2011