Giuseppe Millaci & Vogue Trio: The Endless Way

There is a distinct lived-in, road-tested and chops confidence permeating bassist-composer Giuseppe Millaci & Vogue Trio's second recording The Endless Way.

Road-tested is the key concept here. With each of the album's nine tracks composed to reflect upon moments and experiences along the global roads yearning for jazz, Millaci, premiere pianist Amaury Faye and subtle-as-a-shadow drummer Lionel Beuvens entwine with and interpret each other's passions with veteran elan. And though Millaci's drive and name head the trio attribution, it is Faye who wondrously runs away with many of vividly expressive and passionate performances rendered on The Endless Way.

As if jumping the gun to set the pace, Faye kicks-off Millaci's effusive "Timeless" in contrapuntal frenzy, tossing melodic lines fearlessly around for his bandmates to juggle, bobble, catch, run and score with. Faye again leads "Pra Dizer Adeus," moving from neo-European classicism to a sly nod to Ahmad Jamal. Faye's morphing from one broad style of play to the next is a near illusory experience. At first, "Mi Ritorni In Mente" may sound like a romantic ballad, but its sly development into a blues is a conclusive nod to how these three are honing their potential while leaving all their possibilities open. The trio tears in and never lets go of "Highway 132D," so full-tilt raucous is the only way to describe this burner. Faye then turns the tables a full three-sixty with "Iberian Waltz" where again Millaci, Faye, and Beuvens stretch and release, knowing there's a grand open road out there ahead awaiting them.