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3 Trios, a vision created by jazz bassist Gene Perla, is an opportunity for listeners to appreciate the creativity of three blooming pianists. Anchored by bass, propelled by drums, |
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Bassist Gene Perla made his recording debut a little under sixty years ago. When he was at the Berklee School of Music he recorded with their student big band in 1962 and 1963. In ’63, the revered teacher/bandleader Herb Pomeroy was in charge: the personnel included upcoming stars such as Michael Mantler, Jimmy Mosher, and Sadao Watanable. Six years later Perla made A Very Rare Evening, backing up Nina Simone on PM Records release After that, he became Woody Herman’s bass man. He recorded a session with Miles Davis in 1970: it’s Perla who plays the powerful electric bass line on the two takes of Ali which were only released on The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions. He’s very much front and center. On the second take, you can hear Miles advise Perla: “Play it loud.” I consider that a compliment. To many of us, Perla became known as the bassist in the early and mid-’70s with Elvin Jones: his generally piano-less Jazz Machine, which featured Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman on saxophones. (Both were also with Miles Davis in that period.) He played in the oddball Sonny Rollins band that also featured bagpipe player Rufus Harley and with the Art Pepper Quartet. Now, at 81 years old, he’s back with another intriguing album that documents (on PM Records) a live concert given in Allentown, Pennsylvania on November 20, 2020. The idea… it seems a little extravagant... was to play trio music with three different pianists, all lesser known than their leader: Davis Whitfield, Leo Genovese, and Oscar Williams II. The pianists chose the repertoire: the concert and the recording should be seen as a generous opportunity for these vibrant musicans show off. The veteran Adam Nussbaum was the drummer. That repertoire is interesting. Whitfield begins with “The Japanese Sandman,” a chestnut that goes back to Bix Beiderbecke. He brings an exuberant, big two-handed style to “Sandman” and follows that with a broad and vigorous version of “Deep River.” The melody in the latter emerges from a swirling background: it seems almost hammered out, as if it needed to assert its dominance. The pianists were in what could be called a folksy mood. Genovese thumps out a version of “Wayfaring Stranger” that is as far as possible from the fragile soprano folk song versions I (and Perla) grew up with. It’s as if McCoy Tyner were being channeled. Williams seems to be a more light hearted spirit. He plays a bouncy, lyrical version of “Vilia,” which John Coltrane adapted years ago from the Merry Widow. He holds back, it would seem, on “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” leaving space for Perla’s bass to step forward. The original in the lineup is Davis Whitfield’s “John Arthur,” a tribute to the late, still lamented pianist Jaki Byard. It is based on a brightly aggressive theme that, in his improvisation, Whitfield to gleefully shed, as if it were James Brown’s capes. As I hear them, all three pianists seem influenced by Tyner, both his power and forthright left hand. But they also have their own distinctive spirits, whether they are playing “School Days” or “The House of the Rising Sun.” Good for Perla for bringing them together. — Michael Ullman, March 9, 2021 |
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