David Janeway: David Janeway Trio/Live At Blue Llama

Live at Blue LLama by the David Janeway Trio was recorded in June 2024 at the Blue LLama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it is the kind of album that is unforced, deeply conversational, and grounded in a shared musical trust. Pianist Janeway has long valued rhythmic authority and melodic clarity over display and possesses a composer's sense of proportion. He is paired with Billy Hart, a drummer whose influence spans generations, and Robert Hurst, a bassist deeply rooted in the Detroit tradition he shares with Janeway, whose playing is at once foundational and lyrical.

The set opens with Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are." Janeway begins with a reflective solo-piano introduction, then moves into motion with an Afro-Cuban montuno figure. It is not a stylistic pivot but a rebalancing of the tune's structure. Hart's cymbal work and Hurst's anchored pulse give Janeway room to stretch the rhythm without losing the thread. Thad Jones's "A Child is Born" is a study in restraint. Janeway's phrasing is patient, allowing each note to settle. Hurst and Hart provide an unobtrusive foundation, turning the waltz into something that feels suspended rather than counted.

"Forward Motion" is one of Janeway's originals, showcasing his compositional clarity. The themes are clearly stated, then expanded and reshaped during the performance. The supporting rhythmic cushion pays tribute to Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." The popular standard "Sweet and Lovely" finds Hurst stepping forward with a presence that is both melodic and structural. His lines not only provide support but also serve as a launching pad for the trio to respond collectively in real time.

The trio's shared history is rooted in the aforementioned Detroit tradition and carries a dual weight. First, an unshakeable commitment to groove, and second, a deep-rooted sense of community. The feeling of time is not only lived in but also binds the music together. Just as important is the ethic behind it, the spirit of giving back, of sharing knowledge and experience, and of collective uplift.

Gary Peacock's "Gardenia" becomes one of the session's most introspective moments. Janeway and Hurst dwell together in space and tone, while Hart's sensitive, warm locomotion allows the emotional weight to build gradually. Continuing this search for self- awareness, the Billy Strayhorn composition "Star-Crossed Lovers" provides the perfect vehicle. Janeway handles the theme with care, preserving its harmonic tensions rather than smoothing them over.

The closing sequence is where the trio's full breadth comes into focus. McCoy Tyner's "Search for Peace" is rendered by Janeway with spiritual intensity that builds organically and without pause. It gives way to "Blues on the Corner," and the transition feels inevitable, not contrived. Janeway, Hurst, and Hart exchange musical ideas, shifting from inward searching to rhythmic declaration.

What lingers is not any particular moment but a sense of patience in the players' interactions and a willingness to let the ideas develop, which speaks to a process of building a shared language and a mutual perspective.