FAB Trio: History of Jazz in Reverse (2011)

Nic Jones

CD/DVD Reviewer since 2002

Nic gets a positive sense of wonder from the most worthwhile music.

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Published: December 14, 2011

A trio consisting of violin, bass and drums might seem a little thin, but violinist Billy Bang Billy Bang
1947 - 2011
violin , bassist Joe Fonda Joe Fonda
b.1954
bass and drummer Barry Altschul Barry Altschul
b.1943
drums know a thing or two about this music and their collective effort on this disc combines elements of the intellectual and the physical. The result is, perhaps unsurprisingly, music which appeals in differing measures to both the head and the heart, serving notice of just how infrequently this mix is successfully caught on record.

On one level, the heart comes predominantly from Bang, yet another musician no longer with us and the likes of whom we might never see again. He's in his element on the galumphing swing of "Chan Chan" where, as one, the trio both toys with and nails a groove. Melodically, Bang is all over it like some post-modern Stephane Grappelli Stephane Grappelli
1908 - 1997
violin , albeit with a sensibility informed by radically different musical priorities.

"One for Don Cherry" captures no little measure of that man's impish spirit, but all three players are only too appreciative of the fact that beneath that quality Don Cherry Don Cherry
1936 - 1995
trumpet 's work was always marked by singularity of spirit. The music is accordingly wide open, shot through with the sense of things not just merely happening in the moment, but also the sense that every moment counts. Despite this, the music is never urgent for its own sake.

"From Here to There" is a matter of measured progress, building as it does upon Altschul's solo opening, then turning into a frenetic trio workout which retains its coherence. Bang and Fonda are both at their freest, and the result's an example of how far this trio could take the music, even while holding onto its distinct personality.

Track Listing: Homeward Bound; Implications; For Bea; From Here to There; Chan Chan; History of Jazz in Reverse; One for Don Cherry; From the Waters of New Orleans.

Personnel: Billy Bang: violin; Joe Fonda: bass; Barry Altschul: drums.

Record Label: TUM Records
Style: Modern Jazz