The Harry Bartlett Trio: Wildwood

The Harry Bartlett Trio's Wildwood twangs like something coming out of West Texas. The instrumentation is guitar, bass and drums, pure and simple. The opener, "Burgess Falls," might suggest a wide open desert landscape in the U.S.A.'s southwest, but the real Burgess Falls is located in Tennessee, where good country music can be found. As suggested by the opener, in part Bartlett's style is rooted in American folk and Western music sounds, but it also embraces jazz and improvisation.

This is a Canadian jazz trio. The music on Wildwood was written, by guitarist Bartlett, on Gambier Island, British Columbia., close to Vancouver. It is a place of rugged coasts, cold winter rains and isolation. The compositions reflect this. "Circle Of Moss And Fire Smoke" suggests the trio gathered around a fire ring at twilight, laying down laid-back lines inside a relaxed groove, and "Snowfall On Sword Ferns" has a Zen-like peacefulness in its spare elocution, and perhaps an appreciation of one of life's unique moments in observation of nature.

"The Incident At Blood Bay" sounds a bit ominous, with Bartlett's guitar inside a heartbeat rhythm, it closes out with some screaming guitar, "Queen Of Surrey" features sweet, deep, ringing tones from Bartlet's guitar. Bassist Caleb Klager and drummer Harry Vetro set up a complex and compelling backdrop.

The trio closes the set with "Lachesism," taking their sound into surreal territory with the help of Klager's contribution on a modular synthesizer, making the tune a dreamscape soundtrack. A perfect wrapup for a fine and engaging set of tunes.

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