Joe Lovano Trio Tapestry: Our Daily Bread

Rising from a serene inner place, the music takes shape like prayer. That it is prayer that lies at the beating heart of all eight spacious spirituals that comprise Our Daily Bread, should come as no surprise. Bearing the expressive quietism of his ancestors—John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, and Ornette Coleman among them—saxophonist Joe Lovano has never hid his leaning towards higher powers.

Imagine Trio Tapestry's third deep listening, deeply rewarding ECM release as a house of worship at sunrise. Marilyn Crispell's hushed, open notes beckon "All Twelve" welcome. All twelve notes, apostles, tribes, Adityas. Twelve the number of harmony and balance. Carmen Castaldi's whispering cymbals soon inspire Lovano, His tone ancient, yearning, prayerful.

True seekers by nature, the trio (three as a sacred number) build upon the opening premise and create, within Lovano's introspective pronouncements, a space where quiet is the reward. A gong rings and "Grace Notes," a triumph of Crispell's advanced lyricism, brings the repentant and the unruly together to partake of cascading grace. Castaldi, shifting tempo as the spirit guides him, builds subtle narratives for piano and tenor to ruminate in and exalt.

To take nothing away from the trio's previous singular ECM releases—Trio Tapestry (2018) and Garden of Expression (2020)— Our Daily Bread's keynote track may be the trio's definitive performance to date. Unhurried by time and place, Crispell again heralds in a new tomorrow to which Lovano responds with a grateful, consummate beauty. An ease of spirit and insight captured at the moment of fruition.

Invested with meaning and pure emotion, "One for Charlie" serves not only as a solemn paean to the memory of bassist Charlie Haden but also as a celebration of the music they made and the journey they took together. (Lovano's ambitious Universal Language (Blue Note, 1993), Paul Motian's still classic On Broadway Volume 1 (JMT, 1989)). The resonant "Rhythm Spirit" and "Crystal Ball" summon the close of Our Daily Bread with the sound of forgiveness and release.