Pianist Iverson continues to mix his breaking loose of his band The Bad Plus, but still retaining some of its core values on this trio of all stars comprised of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
The songs are for the most part fairly concise, ranging from 3-5 minutes, highly lyrical and stated matter-of-factly, with Iverson keeping the reigns of DeJohnette, who still shows strength on the traditional feeling “The Eternal Verities” and gliding “Praise Will Travel” which includes a snappy intro from the legendary stick man. Iverson himself is whimsical on the poppish sounding “She Won’t Forget Me” giving a dash of Debussy for the delicately ruminating “Blue” and taps into his Bud Powell/Monk dna for the spiffy “Goodness Knows” and resonant “Merely Improbable”. There are a couple ringers in the set, a reflective and tender solo “Had I But Known” and a kind of children’s recital that opens things up on “The More it Changes”. Personal and accessible for tender ears.