Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » String Trio of New York: The River of Orion: 30 Years Running

268

String Trio of New York: The River of Orion: 30 Years Running

By

Sign in to view read count
String Trio of New York: The River of Orion: 30 Years Running
Established in 1979 with the Black Saint album First String, featuring Billy Bang manning the violin chair, the revered band String Trio of New York celebrates its 30-year anniversary with the impressionable effort, The River of Orion: 30 Years Running. Over the years, the trio has invited guest artists, such as saxophonist Oliver Lake and pianist Anthony Davis, to partake in performances and recordings. However, bassist John Lindberg and guitarist James Emery loom as the core components of the trio's makeup, spanning four decades. From a jazz perspective, the band embodies a genre-busting integration of evolving song forms that touch upon modern classical and folk elements. This release highlights Emery's "The River Of Orion" and Lindberg's "Journey Platz," both multi-part compositions.

Again, the trio explores numerous concepts while always maintaining sinuous flows and probing storylines. The musicians execute a cohesive plane that go on a burgeoning journey, spanning sweet and sassy grooves to torridly devised free-bop passages. And they inject the chamber element in spots. It's demanding music for the discriminating connoisseur, as some might say. But where many others become bogged down in snazzy time signatures that lack a particular mood or vibe, these folks sustain loads of interest.

On "The River Of Orion—Aquarian Waters (Part Two)," the musicians breeze through a medium-tempo swing vamp, dappled with Emery's blazing 16th-note voicings and Thomas' lyrically rich lines. But they straddle the avant-garde during "The River Of Orion—Alnitak," as they emulate a frantic metropolis via a blazing trail of ideas and assertions. Here, the trio forges bump-and-groove passages with sweet-toned innocence and ominous circumstances.

The plot continues during "Journey Platz—Part One," which is a piece engineered upon interweaving dialogues and Lindberg's furiously enacted arco movements. They fuse counterpoint, dissonance and intense phrasings that summon notions of someone attempting to navigate through an intricate maze. Yet they find the opening, and soar skyward into a climactic frenzy, underpinned by Thomas' sanguine choruses.

One of the striking elements of the trio's chemistry pertains to its translucent manner of regenerating a given theme or melody into a contrapuntal forum. They flush out certain components, while breathing life into subsequent movements. Abiding an evolutionary methodology amid their cunning improvisational maneuvers, it's not about every man for himself. Contrarily, it's centered on the musicians' remarkable intuition, which is the stuff that can't be taught in the classroom.

Regardless, the 30-year mark serves as a notable timestamp for a band that keeps moving forward with astounding invention, complementing the instrumentalists' signature styles and charismatic, group- based disposition.

Track Listing

The River Of Orion - Aquarian Waters (Part One); Aquarian Waters (Part Two); E. Eridani; The Trapezium; The River Of Orion (Theme); Alnitak; Stellar Coronae; The Eridanus Supervoid; East Of Mintaka; Journey Platz - Part One; Journey Platz - Part Two; Journey Platz - Part Three; Journey Platz - Part Four; Journey Platz - Part Five.

Personnel

String Trio of New York
band / ensemble / orchestra

Rob Thomas: violin; James Emery: guitar; John Lindberg: bass.

Album information

Title: The River of Orion: 30 Years Running | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Black Saint

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.