Search - The Trio :: Real

I'm baffled . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 04/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . three top jazzmen come together and make marvelously evocative, edgy contemporary jazz--and are largely ignored. Since they've been together for 10+ years, what's the excuse?



Granted, this is not unknown in the history of jazz: many brilliant albums have fallen through the cracks over the years. But somehow, this seems tragedy of the first order.



Why?



Because this is such a perfectly realized outing. Everything's working optimally: Makoto Ozone's piano and Fender Rhodes (especially the latter); James Genus's sly but brilliantly evocative bass; and especially Clarence Penn's restlessly searching drums. To me, this is one of the top releases of the past year, but it barely registers on the jazz horizon.



Listen. These are not Johnny-come-latelies; all have impeccable jazz bona fides. Why then has this disc been relegated to virtual jazz obscurity?



My suspicion is that this release fell between the cracks with their label, Concord. This company has recently purchased the Fantasy catalog (some 3,500 titles) as well as Telarc (I don't know how many jazz titles, but certainly in the hundreds); hence, they simply have been the victims of label distraction and inattention to proper marketing protocols.



But that doesn't mean you have to miss out on some really fine modern piano trio jazz. I urge you to consider acquiring this altogether remarkable disc. I don't think you'll be disappointed; I certainly haven't been."