You could make a convincing argument that the piano/bass/drum trio is the core essence of jazz, as it can capture the intricacies, power and swing of jazz at its most organic and basic. An impressive debut album by the combination of pianist/composer Andrew Nixon, bassist Ed Croft and Joe Goretti on drums shows the width, breath and strength of what a team of three are capable of producing these days.
Nixon displays his own stylings right up front with a solo “Prelude” that feels like a mix of an elliptical Chopin nocturne with a dash of Monk. As a three member unit, the team makes you pay attention to their ideas, as they come quickly, changing tempos and swiftly bouncing back and forth before Goretti delivers a nifty solo on “7-8-9” while Croft does some rapid hand work switching between bowing out the themes during “Ruby’s Waltz” and picking the strings during the rivulets of a groove. Croft also bows out on the swaying processional of “I’ll Keep Trying” while stating the melody around Nixon’s rich chords on “I’ll Remember Felix/Incongruence” and stretching the strings on solo and in support of Goretti’s sizzling cymbals on “Circulation”. None of the songs ever go longer than 6-7 minutes, so they pack a lot into the concise themes and interweave the solos like strings in a Raphael tapestry. Impressive impressions.