Triology: The Slow Road

As if having three of Canada's most cherished and honored jazz musicians together in a recording studio were not enough, that trio—best known by its collective name, Triology—chooses to travel The Slow Road with one of America's national treasures, the incomparable tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton. When it comes to lovely music lovingly conceived and performed, it seldom gets much better than this.

On the other hand...The Slow Road is for the most part precisely that: ballads, waltzes, blues and other songs that are charming in their own way but whose pace would not tax even the weakest of snails. The exceptions are Charlie Parker's "Moose the Mooche" and Randy Weston's "Hi Fly," performed back-to-back, "Mooche" by the trio alone, "Hi Fly" with Hamilton along for the ride.

Triology, by the way, is comprised of pianist Miles Black, guitarist Bill Coon and bassist Jodi Proznick, and a more able and empathetic framework and supporting cast would be hard to find, in Canada or anywhere else. The accompaniment is flawless, the solos by every member of the trio keen and seductive. Hamilton could not have wished for a more stylish and comfortable showcase for his eloquent tenor.

Each member of Triology contributed an original composition, and the album opens with Proznick's gentle waltz, "Luna," on which Hamilton delivers the first of several perceptive and well-framed solos. A laid-back reading of "Pompton Turnpike" is next, followed by Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Luiza" and Coon's "Slow Road," none of which disavows the session's essential premise. Besides lending the enterprise more vitality, "Moose the Mooche" shows how creative the trio can be when left to its own devices, after which Hamilton re-enlists for a second star turn on "Hi Fly" and helps wrap the handsome package by softly caressing the standards "I Thought About You," "Thanks for the Memories" and Black's sauntering "Blues for Fraz."

Triology is impressive, Hamilton superb, the music sublime. Presumptive listeners should bear in mind, however, that this is by and large a Slow Road, one on which the traffic is relatively light and the journey calm yet unerring.