Artifacts Trio At Black Box

Artifacts Trio
Black Box
Belfast, N. Ireland
October 16, 2024

Initially penciled in for a spring date that never materialized, Artifacts Trio finally made its Belfast bow five months later. This was the only Irish date for flautist Nicole Mitchell, cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Mike Reid on their European tour. These seasoned musicians have been playing together as Artifacts Trio since 2015, though their orbits have been interlocking for decades as members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM)—the storied Chicagoan arts organization founded in 1965.

Leaders, educators and curators all, to cite their lengthy collective credentials would be beyond the remit of a gig review, so the focus must be on... Ancient to future. When the Artifacts Trio first convened its mission was to represent the music of the AACM's founding figures—the music of Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, Steve McCall, Joseph Jarman et al. The trio's debut album Artifacts (482 Music, 2015) did just that, though 2021's follow-up ...and then there's this (Astral Spirits) tilted more towards original compositions—in line with the creative ethos of the AACM.

Sheet music stands by Tomeka Reid, stage left, and Mitchel, stage right—with Mike Reid back and center—pointed to the composed foundations of the music, but the limbering dialogue that opened the gates on "Pleasure Palace" felt improvised. Short bursts of flute, little flurries of bass notes and light metallic percussion bounced back and forth between the spaces. It wasn't long, however, before Mike Reid struck up a groove—a green light for three-way traffic. With drums and bass-like cello patterns jostling animatedly, Mitchell launched into an extended improvisation where bluesy figures and funky accents flashed like fingers of lightning in her rolling tornado of a solo. You would be hard pressed to find a more exciting or inventive flautist in contemporary music.

The applause had barely abated before the trio lunged into "In Response To," another groove-centric excursion with coursing bass ostinato and lively drumming throughout. But if the swinging rhythms provided anchorage, Mitchell's small electronic effects unit played an outsized role in taking her flute out of Earth's orbit and into deep space. Standing between twin mics that allowed her to switch at will between acoustic voice and unfettered sci-fi explorations, the angel and demon on Mitchell's shoulders spun a wickedly heady pas de deux. No such electronic trickery colored "Blessed," an unapologetic jazz-funk workout of disciplined rhythms and dancing flute lines.

After thirty minutes of unrelenting driving grooves and flute acrobatics the trio changed tact on the more abstract "Reflections;" Mike Reid switched between bowed cymbal, tinkling toy xylophone and fractured kit rhythms as bowed cello and legato flute overlapped. Gradually, inexorably, groove emerged and planted its standard, ushering in panting exclamations and high-pitched cries from Mitchell, who then incorporated both articulations into her playing.

The trio proceeded with Steve McCall's introspective "I'll Be Right here Waiting," a fascinating meeting between restless rhythms and lyrical, slightly mournful flute. Tomeka Reid's bowing converged with Mitchell's soft flute voicing on the cellist's "Song for Helena," the trio's chamberesque elegance and restraint still home to arresting solos from both musicians.

Time stood still during Tomeka Reid's clawing, throbbing intro to "B.K.," her improvisation resolving in an ostinato that ignited the trio's engine. Mike Reid's skittering rhythms, punctuated by sharp, pressed rolls, and Tomeka Reid's percolating bass lines laid the foundations for a swirling solo from Mitchell full of slippery glissandi and guttural exclamations that whipped up the audience. A visceral drum solo paved the way for an effects-laden flute segment, sealed by an abrupt ending.

Crisp stickwork and probing bass lines on Edward Wilkerson's "Light On the Path" provided Mitchell with a buoyant platform from which to fly, her highly lyrical solo mirrored in spirit by the sing-song quality of Tomeka Reid's response. For the encore, the trio offered Roscoe Mitchell's jaunty "Jo Jar," dedicated to Mitchell's longstanding musical brother in Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Joseph Jarman. Fifty years after The Art Ensemble of Chicago's foundation, Tomeka Reid and Mitchell joined the ranks, the expanded group celebrating with the studio-cum-live double album We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (Pi Recordings, 2019). Legacy and progress. Ancient to future.

Earlier in the set Mike Reid had acknowledged the importance of the audience in the music, the symbiotic relationship between givers and receivers, with musicians and the Black Box audience sharing the roles and feeding off each other's energy. The meaning lay, as it always does, in the giving.