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Scott Colley, Edward Simon, Brian Blade: Three Visitors
Simon (SFJAZZ Collective), Colley (Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock) and Blade are '90s post-boppers who have enjoyed each other's company with David Binney and in many studios and past stages. Here, they gather attention with Simon's wistful "Nostalgia." Quiet—like a gathering flurry—the music moves spaciously from a rich, masterful trio performance to a meditation accented by a string quartet. Rooted metaphorically in the Japanese philosophy of creating art from decay and destruction, Blade's elegantly cloudlike transformative "Kintsukuroi" heightens and advances the ruminative themes of "Nostalgia." Colley's deep resonance is essential here and his closing statement leaves a lasting impression. The trio then bring their collective histories and individual powers to the fore on a trio of emphatic Colley compositions: the darkly harmonic "Ellipsis" and the looser, more post-bop-animated "The Thicket" and "Three Visitors." Together, the three make up the beating heart of the music as well as the trio.
But it is at this juncture that Three Visitors unexplainably stumbles. "You Are" starts out with a muscular robust performance feverishly amped up by special guest Chris Potter's hot-stove sax solo, but the jabbing, almost predictable string intercessions and new age imploring by vocalist Jana Dagdagan break the vibe considerably. "I Wanna Be With You," featuring vocalist Becca Stevens, crosses the line entirely into smooth, neo-Sade-like pop jazz. Fortunately, the trio regroup and find themselves with the closing "Far Rockaway."
Track Listing
Nostalgia; Kintsukuroi; Ellipsis; The Thicket; Three Visitors; You Are; Wanna Be with You; Far Rockaway.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Chris Potter: tenor saxophone (track 6); Jana Dagdagan: vocals (track 6); Becca Stevens: vocals (track 7); Rogério Boccato: percussion (track 7); Richard Rood: violin (tracks 1,6,8); Elizabeth Lim Dutton: violin (tracks 1,6,8); Kathryn Lockwood: viola (tracks 1,6,8); Sachi Patitucci: cello (tracks 1,6,8).
Album information
Title: Three Visitors | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: GroundUP Music
About Scott Colley
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