A pleasant combination of individual styles, sounds.
01/15/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Having slammed Max in my 'Survivors' review (well, half-slammed, anyway) let me redeem myself by telling you that this is one of the most original jazz -- and I suppose world music -- CD's of the past year. The sound of the ehru is enchanting, and Jang's piano playing is complementarily exotic. For the most part Max eschews conventional, cymbal-based swing drumming and plays melodically on his drums. In that sense it is similar to -- and a natural extension of -- his solo compositions for drumset. This is a nifty example of the intersection of three very individual performers, and it's amazing how natural it feels. Why not 5 stars? One gets the sense that this line-up is somewhat limited musically, and, though I hate to say it, this is most likely due to the limited nature of the ehru. It's a beautiful sound but it doesn't seem to be too versatile, at least in the context of small-group jazz. Repeated exposure will most likely reveal a growing sameness in some of the tracks. I imagine this is why there is a shuffling of players throughout the program as some tracks feature only two out of the three in various combinations. Hopefully, if the Trio plans on another CD they will find another dimension to explore in their group sound. But don't let this reservation dissuade you, I heartily recommend it."