Tomas Fujiwara 7 Poets Trio: Pith

In many ways, Pith, the second offering from drummer Tomas Fujiwara's 7 Poets Trio, pursues the course set by the eponymous debut (Rogue Art, 2020) with its lightly swinging lyricism, moments of reflective calm, and a restrained aesthetic which nonetheless permits adventurous forays. The unusual instrumentation, in which the leader supplements his trapset with Tomeka Reid's cello and Patricia Brennan's vibraphone, promotes a cool, airy feel, which at times recalls the chamber elegance and collective give and take of the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet (though Brennan follows a very different path to Milt Jackson).

Fujiwara penned five of the half dozen cuts in a program completed by one joint invention. Although the themes vary from bright and sunny to ominous, somber and atmospheric, the real interest resides in the group exchanges which they nurture. Both Brennan and Reid are among the foremost improvisers on their respective axes, and they mesh in delightful, understated interplay, particularly notable on "Josho," but a feature throughout. Even with only three participants, Fujiwara does not press his case, largely content to prompt, support and maintain forward motion.

Rather than solos, there are subtle changes in prominence between the three principals, in what is primarily an ensemble music. "Resolve" begins in a textural interchange from indeterminate sources. Is that a bowed cymbal or a whistling cello upper register? Or is Brennan making artful use of electronics to modulate and distort the vibraphone? Ultimately it makes no difference to the uneasy ambience created, one resolved by a subdued cello melody which conjures an air of quiet resignation.

Discharged from their conventional roles, everyone stretches out more on the extemporized "Other." And the rich, angular drama, which moves from a choppy opening to a polyrhythmic drum throb, careening pizzicato cello and ringing vibes, suggests a fertile gambit ripe for further exploration in the future. Once again Fujiwara and his squad thrive in the tantalizing push and pull between the charted and the untethered.

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