Martin Pyne is perhaps best known for his percussion adventures, but the piano trio Small Blue, which includes pianist David Beebee and bassist Marianne Windham, is a vehicle for his ever-growing collection of piano based compositions.
Furrow uses the trio as a means to find a home for those pieces that are less about improvisation and more about the feel of a classic jazz format. But where this selection differs and what gives it its variety is that they are inspired by many sorts of other artistic media, be they poetry, film or books.
I have listened a lot to this album and it contains such a variety of work that you can hear different little elements each time; but at the end of the day it is like a series of jazz soundtrack pieces that evoke thoughts and imagery in the listener’s mind, be it the playful noir-ish swing of “The Expendable Man”, which takes its groove from a lovely subtle bass line, to the deeper melancholy of “Before The Thaw”, where the bass adds a real early morning weariness to the song. It really stretches expressing that feeling of having seen the night through, featherlight percussion like the first rays of morning sun with the piano’s light expansiveness taking the theme and pursuing it further into the day. As the chief writer, it is often up to Martin to make the statements that allow the other to follow; but in others, the percussion is a loose chuckling current that scampers through the hedgerows, popping out with a brief moment of clarity. It is the sort of stuff that a lot of jazz pianists wouldn’t be able to write because they are coming from another direction; but also due to the understanding that David has, he can follow these flights of fancy, the piano almost becoming secondary percussion or perhaps adding to its repertoire.The sparse intro of “Weaving The Spell” enhances a mystical widescreen minimalism that is imbued with an air of expectation, its gradual percussive unfurling belying a slightly awkward gait; whereas the lush romance of “Stolen By The Breeze” does have a classic small hours feel to it, the minor chords withholding an ache that makes way for a sense of playfulness. It is interesting comparing the pieces with their inspiration and generally the feeling is very close, with “Okri” repeating then subverting a simple piano refrain in endless forms, while the abstract “Karesansui” is the one opportunity for the trio to interact around something less structured, each little motif drawing a fresh expression from the others. It is a slow, careful and respectful progression that abounds in space.
“Prabaker’s Taxi” has a strutting no-nonsense bass that sends both the piano and the percussion off at dizzying tangents, then shape-shifting into a momentum-filled drive, while the wistful yearning of the bass on “Topaz” slows the heart back down, then tugs on the strings as they almost waltz around the room. The album doesn’t really sit still, but it is always redolent of an update on the kind of trio helmed by Bill Evans or Dave Brubeck; the ebullient “Flirting At The Acme Bookstore” had me thinking of Gus Kahn‘s “‘It Had To Be You”, while the lush romance of closing ballad “Laughing And Crying And Dancing And Waltzing” made me think of the film When Harry Met Sally, which in my opinion is no bad thing. There is a smile in the eyes and a careful invitation offered by both bass and piano to melt into somebody’s arms.It is a fine send-off for a collection of pieces that charms at every turn and shows just how intuitive these players are breathing life into Martin’s disparate ideas. A true delight.
-Mr Olivetti-
