Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » George Crotty Trio: Chronotope

4

George Crotty Trio: Chronotope

By

View read count
George Crotty Trio: Chronotope
Surf the web in search of the word "chronotope" and encounter explanations concerning "literary theory of philosophy and language to describe how time and space are represented in language..." And so on. A bit cerebral for the layman, perhaps, but Chronotope, from cellist George Crotty and his trio, seems not all that brainy. Visceral, perhaps, and organic in its embrace of influences from the Middle East, South America and India. Taking a lead from the piano trio format, Crotty fronts a trio featuring bassist Jonathan Chapman and drummer Matias Recharte. Call it world music, but throw in a sprinkling of the astral, beyond-space-and-time vibe of the tune "Snowglobe."

Five of the nine tunes—all Crotty originals—presented on Chronotope feature percussion augmentation, upping the trans-global feeling of the music. But the opener, "Island Incidental," is straight-through cello, bass and drums, a danceable, brimming-with-life jaunt with intertwining strings and crisp, snappy drum work from Recharte.

These sometimes high-energy, sometimes pensive, cross cultural explorations of global sounds came about during a time of pandemic-induced travel restrictions. A virtual, in-the-studio travelog is the result. World music aside, the title tune could morph into a rock anthem, with Crotty's sharp, guitar-like pizzicato work coming together with Chapman's sludgy bass and Recharte's seismic drumming, while "Prayer Dance" elicits images of a bustling Middle Eastern market place.

"Metamorphosis" floats on a cloud; "Halftime Hajaz" features intricate three-way interplay and a relentless momentum, while "Banish The Birds" is an immersion in ambient atmospherics.

Track Listing

Island Incidental; Chronotope; Prayer Dance; Metamorphosis; Baiao; Halftime; Snowglobe; Ropetrick; Banish the Birds.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Max Senitt: percussion (2, 3, 4, 7); Gilbert Mansour: percussion (8).

Album information

Title: Chronotope | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.