Trio 3 + Geri Allen: At This Time

All the experience implied here wouldn't amount to much if the music produced led to a whole lot of nothing, but the opposite is true. The shared group identity does not result in the negation of the members' individual voices. The trick is pulled off with no little skill, especially with reference to Eric Dolphy's "Gazzeloni." If ever a musician was equipped with the resources and trenchancy of opinion necessary to do justice to Dolphy's perhaps increasingly enigmatic music, then Oliver Lake's the man. He turns in a solo to prove it, all irregular intervallic leaps and off-kilter ebullience.

Lake's "Long Melody" provides a reflective interlude, proving that the mood comes easily when a group is as empathetic as this one. The subtle dynamics don't diminish the momentum of the piece, but it's not as if velocity is something the performance overtly strives for. In the interest of those dynamics, both Allen and drummer Andrew Cyrille deploy an augmented vocabulary and the end result creates a craving for more of this shaded, essentially timeless methodology.

Cyrille's reflective "Tey" offers proof—if ever needed—that he's one of the highly select band of drummers who also happen to be distinctive composers. Lake, on flute, portrays James Spaulding in his ability to bring two different sensibilities to bear on both his alto saxophone and flute work. The result is compelling, especially as the entire band has a collective and highly evolved understanding of tension and release. When Allen starts in on her solo, it's a quietly glorious moment in itself, rendered all the more so by the individual yet entirely unmannered essence of her playing.

"Barbara's Rainbow" is a group credit, and assuming it's an in-the-moment creation, it's a credit to this group's ever-present shared understanding. Lake has always been a distinct stylist on soprano sax too, and here he proves the point once again, much to this album's benefit.

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