Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Listening to music, one learns to move beyond focusing on the singer or soloist and to pay attention to whether the band is playing ?with? or ?at? each other. This focus is at the center of listening to that jazz moment of truth known as the piano trio. The best-known trios seem to work like a great basketball team. Like the Celtics, Bulls, and Lakers, piano trios like the one led by Bill Evans, for example ? arguably the gold standard for this format ? work as part of a whole, just like guards, forwards, and a center work as one unit. The ones who succeed do. There is not really much difference in approach between Bill Evans and Bill Russell ? arguably still the gold standard for centers who lead winning teams ? except maybe in beard choice.

I thought of Evans while listening to [tag]Rejuvenation[/tag], the recent CD by the [tag]Russo Alberts Trio[/tag]. The band members are Don Alberts on piano, Don Russo on bass, and Diego Arencon on drums.

The sound of their music did not remind me of the Evans trio, but the way they played together definitely made me think of it. At times I got a very sharp mental image of the three of them playing on a small stage, almost physically touching each other while playing, glancing at each other with approval or awareness of an improvised passage that would wash over the three of them like a wave. This image was not just a result of an outstanding engineering job by Omar Rane but something more primal: the connection that makes us human, stated in musical terms. Maybe best stated in musical terms.

In an article recently published by the East Bay Express, Emmylou Harris described her harmony singing style as ?the third voice,? which blends with another voice, in this case, with Mark Knopfler on their new All The Roadrunning CD, and creates something independent of the two singers, something with its own presence, something that surprises and delights both listener and performer. I think the same can be said of the music by the Russo Alberts Trio. Each song is filled with surprise and delight. The biggest surprise, which leads to the greatest sense of delight, is their commitment to the trio sound. All three musicians contribute equally to every measure of every song. There are no ?this is all about me? moments on this CD.

The title track and its CD-closing reprise bookmark six of the eight songs composed by Alberts on this recording. All of them, especially ?Mr. Pacific? and ?One Fin Up,? retain a high standard of excellence from piece to piece. There are no filler moments. The rhythms, melodies, and harmonic colors are bright and joyful. I did not get a sense of false ?feel-good? sentiment or cheap showmanship from this music. I did get a sense of three guys who enjoy what they do and probably enjoy being with each other to do it. The group also covers two songs: ?Autumn Leaves? and Miles Davis? ?Nardis.? Of the two, ?Nardis? either seemed too mannered to me or I was not able to remove the versions by Davis and Ralph Towner on solo guitar from my mind. It is, of course, against the law to do anything wrong to ?Autumn Leaves.?

Alberts attended San Jose City College and San Jose State University in his younger days. He brings the trio back to that area this weekend, playing at Jofi Gallery in Santa Cruz on July 22 and The Kings Head in Campbell on the following night. The trio also played at the Listen & Be Heard Poetry Caf? on June 24. Hope they can come back some time soon.

For showtimes and information regarding the above-mentioned performances, and to purchase this CD, visit www.donmarmusic.com.

[tags]jazz cd, CD review, jazz[/tags]