Dana Hall/Clark Sommers/Chris Madsen: Threefold

Threefold, the second recording by the Chicago-based chordless trio of saxophonist Chris Madsen, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall, might well be called three-of-a-mind, as that is how closely the threesome works together on this album of original music written especially for the ensemble by Madsen and Sommers.

While Madsen's voice, on tenor or soprano sax, is inherently the more outspoken of the three, he is shadowed and supported every step of the way by Sommers' and Hall's harmonic proficiency and rhythmic acumen. In other words, these are three talented musicians working seamlessly together for a common purpose: to share the very best music a group of its size and makeup can produce.

Even without the help of a piano, guitar or other stringed instrument, the trio swings when it has to, which is a tribute to their individual and collective skill-sets. Besides lending Madsen their unflagging support, Sommers and Hall have their own solo space, and are no slouches in that area either. For his part, Madsen, who plays soprano sax only on the opening "Digital Harvest," tenor the rest of the way, has superb technique and a fairly broad repertoire of sharp and engaging ad libs.

Besides "Harvest," Madsen wrote "Shadow People," "Dream Music" and "Man of Action," while Sommers composed "Mads," "Hidden Message," "Revolving Door" and the closing "Buyer's Remorse." Every theme is modern in a twenty-first-century manner, with traces of Ahmad Jamal, Ornette Coleman, Bob Mintzer and others heard along the way. Even though well-played, however, there is nothing on the menu that begs for a second helping. Simply good music, immediately enjoyed yet quickly forgotten.

Still and all, an album that is definitely worth hearing—and enjoying—at least once, and perhaps even more than that, depending on the listener's taste.