Álvaro Torres Trio: Iris

At the age of 19, the Madrid-born, globe-hopping pianist Álvaro Torres fantasized about a life in New York, surrounded by influences and inspiration(s). And at the age of 29, he's living that dream. Studies at the Manhattan School of Music offered an initial pathway into all that the Big Apple has to offer, and life beyond that institution ultimately yielded two important musical relationships, a new trio and this gripping date.

In the process of sewing himself into the New York scene, Torres unknowingly set Iris in motion when he sought out the legendary free-minded drummer Barry Altschul as sage and music ally. When their musical connection began to evolve, a gig at Mezzrow came through at the opportune moment. So Torres asked Altschul and bassist John Hébert if they would join him. That performance served as a launchpad, with subsequent dates for the trio at venues like The Jazz Gallery and Smalls, and this outfit began to develop a group identity centered around wide-ranging originals and occasional, unfenced interpretations of classics. In July of 2023, looking to document their dynamic explorations, Torres took the band into Trading 8s Studio in New Jersey. The results—best described as free-focused in the most positive of ways—are highly welcoming.

Opening on "Old and New," the leader uses a slowed and slightly aged original as a springboard for improvisatory ventures, creating something fresh in the process. All three musicians look to shape the music by feeling around for clear borders and edges, but few can be found. It's a grasp for infinity, and the point is the reach. If that opener is meant to question, "West Harlem" counters with answers. An avant-Latin hit nodding to the leader's Dominican neighbors in the titular territory, it starts life as a broad-thinking bumper and leads toward dazzling refinement. The title track is blue to the bone, but not without surprises. Topic dissection, wild rhythmic wormholes and an Altschul solo outro keep things plenty interesting. And "Carla's Ingredient" carries the legacy of the late Carla Bley forward, using her "Battery" as means to power a new, mostly fevered scenario.

"On Broadway" sets the second half of the album in motion, using established structure as the basis for boundless and beautiful creation (à la drummer Paul Motian's same-named album series from decades back). Then Torres and company carry on the time-honored tradition of adding a lone standard to an originals set, putting a jittery swing spin on Bud Powell's "Celia." Eighty seconds of pure, unadulterated Altschul usher in "The Good Life," a hyper/boosterish venture with a lust for progress. And the album reaches the finish line with "You Dig?," referencing Hébert's favored comment in name and playing things out with a knotty goodbye. Artfully unpredictable and taken with a sense of togetherness, Iris is a portrait and model of triangular distinction.

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