Butterflyin' High / Trio 3

Caught Drew Gress' 7 Black Butterflies at the Standard the other night (w/Drew, Ralph Alessi, Tim Bernes, Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey). I'm loving the fact that we're sprinkling in some more "out" stuff into the schedules lately (ie, Trio 3 w/Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille & guest Geri Allen a few weeks back). But, like Trio 3, the group was so tight and the compositions were so meticulous whilst retaining a sense of immediacy and melodic commitment that it couldn't just be chalked up to just some "out" stuff. I think the more shackled artists get due to over-education and over-intellectualizing, the more necessary it is to infuse some solidly avant leanings just to keep it sounding alive. I'm not a musician, so I realize it's a tricky thing and everyone thinks they're doing something "new" . . . it's understandable, but you can just really tell the difference between the same-ol' same-ol' and something fresh . . . I don't claim to know why exactly. Trio 3 and Drew Gress have set the bar very high for me, and I'm excited what else will come along down the pipeline.

Next up is the Cryptogramophone 10th Anniversary run in late April w/Nels Cline, Bennie Maupin, Scott Amendola & Co. Let's see what happens!