Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jimmy Giuffre: The Life of a Trio: Saturday & Sunday
Jimmy Giuffre: The Life of a Trio: Saturday & Sunday
The Life of a Trio: Saturday & Sunday documents the long-awaited 1989 reunion of Giuffre's remarkable group. Older, wiser and still stunningly in tune with each other, the threesome take up where they left off and the resulting double-disc of music is every bit as riveting as the original. Giuffre is playful yet reflective on "Black Ivory, the tones of his clarinet resonating over Bley's sweeping chords and strummed strings; out of a jaunting counterpoint his horn softly trills over a pulsing pedal from Bley, glissing to a bell-like high as the piano drops out: assured but vulnerable.
Both Bley and Swallow make remarkable contributions throughout the two sessions, pushing Giuffre into exciting territory before embarking on unaccompanied solos. "December is a doleful vehicle for Swallow's electric bass and the reflective mood he sets permeates the solo improvisations of Giuffre and Bley that follow. Sounding at times like a guitar, Swallow's playing is impeccablevirtuosic yet restrained.
Through all the solo and duo playing it's still, not surprisingly, the trio work that shines. Giuffre's soprano cuts through the dissonant cloud evoked by Bley and Swallow on "Sensing, meditating on a melodic fragment, soaring to the upper register before falling into lockstep with the piano and bass. The three make it clear that the life of a trio continues after the initial dispersion of its parts and that something great can always come of bringing together such like-minded souls.
Track Listing
Saturday: Clarinet Zone; Black Ivory; Owl Eyes; Endless Melody; Turns; Foreplay; We Agree; Clusters; December; Someone; Even Steven; By The Way. Sunday: Sensing; Monique; The Giant Guitar And The Black Stick; Industrial Suite; Sanctuary Much; Tango Del Mar; The Hidden Voice; Mephisto; Where Were We?; Sweet Song; Scrambled Legs; Play Ball; Fallen Statue; Things; Two Singers; The Life Of A Trio.
Personnel
Jimmy Giuffre
clarinetJimmy Giuffre: clarinet, soprano saxophone; Paul Bley: piano; Steve Swallow: electric bass.
Album information
Title: The Life of a Trio: Saturday & Sunday | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Unknown label