Before the repeal of New York's reactionary cabaret law, drummerless trios were common on the city's live jazz scene. By the '90s such configurations had become somewhat rare, so in 1997 when bassist Christian McBride, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and guitarist Mark Whitfield united to record Fingerpainting (Verve), an album of Herbie Hancock songs, the grouping was seen as an anomaly. Assembled by the musicians' mutual record label, the unit never toured and so the appearance of the threesome at the Jazz Standard (Sep. 3rd) was more a reassemblage than a reunion. Each of the players, highly-touted young lions at the time of the original recording, has matured markedly in the decade since - more than living up to the early promise they demonstrated individually - and so their live performance, not surprisingly,
surpassed that of the record in many ways. Unhampered by the time constraints of a strict
program and the sterility of a studio the three players stretched out uninhibitedly, playing off each other's ideas. McBride and Whitfield shared equally in the job of accompaniment and rhythmic propulsion with Payton occasionally joining forces with either one,
riffing softly in the background behind the other's solos. Beginning with bluesy readings of "Driftin," the set's one Hancock piece, and Duke Pearson's "Is That So," they then revealed their true originality on freewheeling versions of Payton's "Backwards Steps" and Whitfield's "The Marksman".

Aethereal Bace

Bands featuring two drummers are a real rarity in jazz (the combination more popular in rock bands like The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers), but the alliance of Eric McPherson and Nasheet Waits proved that the pairing of percussionists in a single jazz band is indeed a concept whose 'time' has come. Joined by saxophonist Abraham Burton, the exciting cooperative trio calling themselves Aethereal Bace played
rhythmically bracing original music at the new village venue Le Poisson Rouge (Sep. 3rd). The group opened with Waits' "Kush," with the composer introducing the piece with a spacious airy cymbal prelude. McPherson joined in shortly, increasing the dynamic tension as he played mallets on snare and toms,
beginning a genuine dialogue of the drums that
persisted throughout the evening. By the time the powerful Burton joined the two, they were playing together with a dizzying unity that called to mind a two-headed octopus, with its eight independently
operating limbs controlled by two completely
connected minds. For McPherson's "Future" the trio was joined by Trevor Todd on didgeridoo, his
droning/growling accompaniment complementing Burton's Middle Eastern-tinged sax as McPherson and Waits danced around their kits on reed brushes and sticks, respectively, occasionally abandoning their drums to play various bells. Burton's "A Punta Lullaby" closed the set with the drummers swinging AfroCuban rhythms over the boppish melody.

—Russ Musto

Recommended New Listening:

* Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble—Proverbs for Sam (Boxholder)
* Lisle Ellis—Sucker Punch Requiem: An Homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat (Henceforth)
* Lee Konitz and Minsarah—Deep Lee (Enja)
* Rudresh Mahanthappa—Kinsmen (Pi)
* Michael Moore/Fred Hersch—This We Know (Palmetto)
* Adam Niewood—Epic Journey, Vols. I & II (Innova)

—David Adler NY@Night Columnist, AllAboutJazz.com

* Conny Bauer—Der Gelbe Klang (Jazzwerkstatt)
* Anthony Braxton/Milford Graves/William Parker—Beyond Quantum (Tzadik)
* Lafayette Gilchrist—Soul Progressin' (Hyena)
* Donny McCaslin—Recommended Tools (Green Leaf Music)
* Lucea Pulido—Luna Menguante (Waning Moon) (Adventure Music)
* Bebo Valdes/Javier Colina—Live at the Village Vanguard (Calle 54-Norte)

—Laurence Donohue-Greene Managing Editor, AllAboutJazz-New York

* Renaud Garcia-Fons Trio—Arcoluz (Enja-Justin Time)
* Vyacheslav Guyvoronsky/Andrey Kondakov/Vladimir Volkov—Christmas Concert (Leo)
* Stephen Haynes and Taylor Ho Bynum—Double Trio (Engine)
* London Improvisers Orchestra—Improvisations for George Riste (psi)
* Puttin' On The Ritz—Bangin' Your Way Into The Future (Hot Cup)
* Trio Viriditas—Live at Vision Festival VI (Clean Feed)

—Andrey Henkin Editorial Director, AllAboutJazz-New York

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