Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tony Malaby Cello Trio: Warblepeck

Tony Malaby Cello Trio: Warblepeck

By Jerry D'Souza
December 8, 2008
View read count

The old and the new come together on Warblepeck, saxophonist Tony Malaby's first CD as leader since 2003. Malaby has played previously with multi-instrumentalist John Hollenbeck, defining new paths and trajectories through music that has stirred and stimulated the senses. Neither of them had worked with Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics), who has made his own impact as an improvising musician. The triumvirate in place, Malaby wrote music that would draw the cello into a new creative spell, also including compositions from others for the CD. The overall result makes a strong impact that springs not only from the harmonic core, but also from the way in which the musicians elevate a tune with their fertile imaginations.

Malaby pulls several elements from his schematic bag. "Sky Church" rides on Hollenback's light percussion, the detail scattered by Lonberg-Holm and Malaby. The trio's conversation spurs ideas on the quick, with response being core to the dialogue as its thrust and parry moves into shadow and light. They find intensity as easily as they do calm, which they blend seamlessly. Freedom finds its fount in structure with all three letting their creativity drink consummately from it.

Cohesive freedom and intuition are the hallmarks of "Chicotaso," as disparate strands weave into a whole. Once the tapestry takes on a cogent shape, the trio sets about daubing individual colors. Malaby digs deep into tonality with his hard phrases becoming the cornerstone. Lonberg-Holm greases the movement with swift, slithering lines and Hollenbeck frames the beat with a judicious use of space.

Bill Frisell's "Waiting Inside" is set alight with radiant warmth. The trio brings in a chamber music quality built on Lonberg-Holm's cello, with Malaby gently introducing the theme. The ensemble lines are pure, pulsing from the appealing melody and as the trio stays within these vestiges, the composition is given new lifeblood.

Empathy and adventure make for music that is vibrant with texture and pulsating with emotional power.

Track Listing

Warblepeck; Jackhat 1; Two Shadows; Waiting Inside; Fly on Wall/Remolino; Anemone; Anemone Vamp; Sky Church; Scribble Boy; Jackhat 2; Chicotaso.

Personnel

Tony Malaby

saxophone, tenor

Tony Malaby: tenor and soprano saxophones; Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello and electronics; John Hollenbeck: drums, marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, melodica, small kitchen appliances.

Album information

Title: Warblepeck | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Songlines Recordings

PREVIOUS / NEXT

XMAS I: Bela Fleck, Spyro Gyra, The ...
< Previous

My Funny Valentine
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.