AOTW March 12-18

[Guy Berger]

Paul Motian - Sound of Love (click to buy)

I probably won't be able to post for the next week, so feel free to carry on with a discussion until I come back (after the current AOTW ends, of course).

Paul Motian (d)

Joe Lovano (ts)

Bill Frisell (eg)

1. Misterioso

2. Duke Ellington's Sound of Love

3. Mumbo Jumbo

4. Once Around the Park

5. Good Morning Heartache

6. Epistrophy

7. Play

[JohnS]

This is a fine little band. I have all Motian's things on JMT and Winter and Winter (I probably don't need any more) and they are all enjoyable. But this one doesn't come out very often. Overall though I find myself playing the quartets, On Broadway, Bill Evans. Maybe it's because they pack more into the shorter performances on these studio recordings, or perhaps it's the addition of a bass player. Still this is a nice one to have.

Edited March 15, 2006 by JohnS

[Guest akanalog]

i feel those winter and winter CD cases are poorly designed and lead to some serious scuffage!

[JohnS]

i feel those winter and winter CD cases are poorly designed and lead to some serious scuffage!

Especially if like my copy of this cd the opening is at the bottom. Still, nice to look at.

[ghost of miles]

I just played the title track off this on an Afterglow that I taped the other day. I'll have to go back and give the entire CD another listen... I really like this group; although, like John S, I have a great affection for the quartets as well, I enjoy the slightly different dynamic of the trio.

And yeah, those Winter & Winter units look cool... but are no fun when it comes to removing and replacing the CDs.

Edited March 15, 2006 by ghost of miles

[Guy Berger]

Alright, I'm back. This is one of my favorite albums by the trio (up there with Trioism and I Have the Room Above Her), and I like it better than their other album from these sessions (recently reissued on Winter & Winter). It offers a pretty good representation of what their live sets at the Vanguard sound like.

Bill Frisell is mostly effects-free on the album.

I agree about the sucky packaging.

Track by track:

1. A great version of Misterioso. Bill's countryfied solo is just great, as is Joe's playing. This one wasn't on the Monk tribute album, oddly enough, though they did cover it on the album by the same name.

2. A beautiful version of the Mingus classic. A song that should be covered more often. The only track on this album that the trio had never recorded.

3. "Mumbo Jumbo" is maybe my favorite track on the album. The Lovano-Motian duet in the second half of the track is intense. Whew!

4. "Once Around the Park" -- wonderful intro by Bill. The whole "Motian can't swing" line is obviously bullshit, but it's true that many of his compositions don't. This one does very nicely.

5. "Good Morning Heartache" -- beautiful. I especially Joe's playing on the melody's return.

6. "Epistrophy" -- not as earthshaking as "Misterioso", but nice and swinging.

7. "Play" -- ends the set with a weird little ballad. More extended than the version on Trioism.

[skeith]

I love this album too. As I have said before, this is my favorite working band, so what's not to like?

It's a live recording,the recording quality is excellent and the band is on.

The tunes are the usual mixed bag of Monk tunes, a standard (Good Morning Heartache- in this case) and Motian's own quirky bunch of tunes. I think I see why he likes Monk, because Motian also like very simple melodies as Monk does.

I am not sure how I would rate it against other Motian Trio albums, as I find it hard to decide between them, but I can't think of one that is clearly superior to this.

[Guy Berger]

The tunes are the usual mixed bag of Monk tunes, a standard (Good Morning Heartache- in this case) and Motian's own quirky bunch of tunes. I think I see why he likes Monk, because Motian also like very simple melodies as Monk does.

Interesting point. It makes for quite a contrast with the lengthy winding melody of "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love". (And also some of the Bill Evans tunes on that tribute album.)

Guy

ps "Mumbo Jumbo" is my favorite Motian tune. I have some live recordings of this group from the Vanguard over the last few years and it always gets a storming performance. Frisell is usually wilder on those versions.

Edited March 17, 2006 by Guy