Jazz Articles about Paul Motian

Paul Motian: Holiday for Strings

by Tony Rogers
November 13, 2002

Since his halcyon days as drummer for the legendary Bill Evans trio, Paul Motian has consistently pushed the boundaries of jazz. Working mostly in small groups with the likes of Keith Jarrett, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell and Charlie Haden, Motian has helped liberate percussionists from their role as simple timekeepers by employing a style and phrasing that uses tempo as a starting point, not an end in itself. In the process he’s produced an invigorating body of work (more than ...

Paul Motian and the Electric Bebop Band: Europe

by C. Michael Bailey
September 1, 2001

Paul Motian found his soul mate in Stephan Winter.

Paul Motian has been the integrated center of several prominent piano trios between 1955 and 1977, including those lead by Bill Evans (with Scott LaFaro), Paul Bley, and Keith Jarrett. Striking out on his own in the late '70s, Motian began the Electric Bebop Band, originally with Joshua Redman and two electric guitarists. Motian uses this same line up for his latest Winter & Winter outing, but adds a second saxophone. ...

Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Amaryllis

by AAJ Staff
July 1, 2001

It's difficult to give this disc the praise it deserves. Crispell's piano trio work with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Paul Motian surfaced in fine form on their recent '96 ECM record Nothing Ever Was, Anyway, a tribute to Annette Peacock. Crispell has been quite promiscuous in the past couple decades, working with players from the New York, Chicago, and European improv scenes. Amaryllis, a delicately crystalline record, brings together three personalities with distinctly individual voices. Peacock and Motian combine ...

Marilyn Crispell, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian: Amaryllis

by David Adler
July 1, 2001

These trio reflections never exceed six minutes per piece. Thus, they come across as perfectly crafted and concise musical thoughts, despite their esoteric thrust. Avant-garde piano titan Marilyn Crispell ranges from hushed, sparkling lyricism to jagged “energy" playing a la Cecil Taylor, with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Paul Motian completing the conversational triangle. There are certainly parallels to be drawn between this album and Peacock and Motian’s 1999 trio outing with Paul Bley, Not Two, Not One. But here ...

Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: Amaryllis

by Mark Corroto
July 1, 2001

If the Crispell/Peacock/Motian record Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (ECM 1997) was the coming-out party for this highly adventurous interactive trio, Amaryllis should begin a series of anticipated recording sessions. Crispell, classically trained, came to jazz late in life. She held the piano chair in Anthony Braxton’s quartet through the 1980s and 90s then went on to make solid solo recordings inspired by John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Thelonious Monk, and Paul Bley. Crispell exhibits the beauty of Bill Evans in improvisational ...

Eddie Costa: Guys and Dolls Love Jazz

by Craig Jolley
June 1, 2001

In retrospect it's hard to see how or why this record was made in the days before CD's as calling cards. Eddie Costa had little name recognition, and what fame he enjoyed was on piano, his primary instrument. The material--cute boy-meets-girl tunes written in subservience to 1950's-clever lyrics--does not lend itself to jazz interpretation. [A couple of the songs have since become standards after being overhauled by Miles Davis and Oscar Peterson.] Costa as a sometime studio musician probably had ...

Lee Konitz/Steve Swallow/Paul Motian: Three Guys

by David Adler
February 1, 2000

Altoist Lee Konitz, who gets top billing on this record, has a sparse, cryptic improvisational style that lends itself well to the left-of-center, quasi-free aesthetic favored by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Paul Motian. Recently Konitz led a very different, yet equally provocative, trio project with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden, which resulted in two live albums for Blue Note. This time there’s a drummer, no piano, and a bassist who couldn’t be more unlike Charlie Haden. In addition, unlike ...