This third release from the Quebec-based
Carrier
trio explores the rich vein of possibilities first tapped as hard bop came of age in the 1960s and began to move towards a freer conception. With passionate, uncompromising musicianship,
and company probe these seams between bop structures and the avant-garde to discover fresh improvisational terrain.
's playing evokes the snaking, vocal quality of
Eric Dolphy
, the idiosyncratic logic of
Ornette Coleman
, and the acerbic, outward bound post-bop of
Jackie McLean
, in a style that focuses on the sound, not on gratuitous, note-filled flurries. In drummer
Michel Lambert
and bassist
Pierre Cote
,
has ideal allies. The supple, staccato rhythms of
Billy Higgins
, the pulse and intensity of
Elvin Jones
, and the driving cymbal work of
Tony Williams
all find personal expression in
Lambert
's committed playing.
Cote
, a monstrous talent, is in audible communion with his instrument -- its wood, the finish, the strings, the flesh of his hands, and his glorious tone propelling the others to riskier terrain, supporting them and, then, guiding them back. The questing musical spirit evident here has roots in the high-energy and advanced interplay of the
/
Jimmy Garrison
Joe Farrell
power trio heard on
Jones
'
Blue Note
recordings
The Ultimate
and
Puttin' it Together
. When pianist
Steve Amirault
joins in, as he does seamlessly for explorations on three tracks, the most obvious reference point is the
John Coltrane
quartet of the
Impulse
years, especially on the title track, which calls to mind
"Spiritual"
from
Live at the Village Vanguard
. This is music that deserves to be heard by anyone who enjoys the open-ended possibilities -- far from exhausted -- of the '60s-era
releases that embraced the avant-garde, but still kept one foot planted in a more structured discipline. ~ Jim Todd