Yes! Trio: Spring Sings

With over twenty albums as leaders between them and two previous trio recordings including the widely acclaimed Groove Du Jour (jazz&people, 2019) the Yes! Trio—drummer Ali Jackson, bassist Omer Avital, and pianist Aaron Goldberg—light it up bright on Spring Sings!.

An old school trio session, Spring Sings! is a jumpy (in a non-anxiety ridden way), spiky (ditto) and punchy (not punch drunk) affair that gets the ball rolling from the start with Jackson's most Ahmad Jamal-like title track. Regaled with the drummer's percussive shifts, Goldberg's gentle infusions, and Avital's yearning bow, "Spring Sings" sets the stage nicely for the rather rowdy moments ahead.

The trio, who collectively over the years have shared studios and stages with a cast of who-is-who, including Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Steve Grossman, Norah Jones, and Tony Bennett, bring it all to play on the kinetic "2K Blues." Contagiously exuberant, Avital's driven "Sheikh Ali" blows the doors off and clears the way for a rollicking, jump-the-rails "The Best Is Yet To Come." Everyone swings, punctuates, sashays and cruises with a flip and dip that will bring a smile to the most dire of times. Goldberg is particularly irreverent, though Jackson is not far behind him.

Spring Sings! then takes a more traditional turn on Jackson's ruminative and romantic "Sanción." "Omeration" bounces along on Jackson's herky-jerky humors and Avital's spirited walking bass. Goldberg whirls and spins, one moment building a head of steam and the next stepping back for his compatriot's solid solos. Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is the Ocean" gets a jovial ride with each player handing the inspirational torch to the other and running with it."Shufflonzo," with its swinging acuity that grooves and grooves and grooves and the jivin' "Fivin'" complete a recording that quite simply has FUN written in boldface capitals all over it.