Motian/Lovano/Frisell at the Village Vanguard

[LWayne]

A couple of weeks ago I took a well-deserved break from a business trip to New York and treated myself and a colleague to the early show at the Village Vanguard on Thursday, August 27th. While I have seen the Paul Motian/ Joe Lovano / Bill Frisell trio several times before, going back to about 2003, this night’s performance was most likely the best. Maybe it was a fortuitous combination of time and place, but the trio seemed to meld together, compliment one another, and play more single-mindedly with passion and fire than any time that I can remember.

Naturally, the first set was packed. The audience buzzed with anticipation but fell dead silent in rapture once the set began. The trio began the set with a free improvisation that I did not recognize, but eventually it morphed into an upbeat and enjoyable version of "Body and Soul". Joe Lovano's expressive tenor soared over the mix and perfectly complimented the tasteful cymbals of Paul Motian and the atmospheric guitar of Bill Frisell. Next the group launched into an extended "I Have The Room Above Her" from the ECM album of the same name that provided a soothing calm before launching into Monks's "Epistrophy", and the Motian classics "Dance", and "Drum Music". On these last two songs, Bill Frisell came to the forefront with his singular blend of ringing guitar, tremolo, and his trademark mix of electronic delays and gadgetry that always seem to add immeasurably to the cohesiveness of the performance, rather than detract from the organic flow of the music. Throughout the set, Paul Motian remained the anchor and provided the perfect timbre and coloration by subtly enhancing and accenting each song.

As usual, it was difficult to remember all the individual song titles as the set blended together seamlessly. Needless to say it was a blissful experience.

When this trio is playing at its best, it is difficult for me to think of another non-piano trio that can match them. There is a certain natural empathy and intuitiveness that comes about within a group that has played together in one form or another for over 25 years. Not only does the trio not run out of ideas, they seems to still find new inspiration in each annual performance at the Village Vanguard. The trio seemed to gain energy and momentum from one another through the set and take the music to a higher level. Not only was this night the best performance I have seem from the trio, but this mesmerizing set was the best performance so far this year.

Truly Unforgettable.

LWayne

Edited September 12, 2009 by LWayne

[7/4]

Ouch - it's the second year in a row I've missed this. It's a great group and I hope they play next year.

Sounds like you had a good time!