Customer Reviews

As It Is

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Peter Erskine, Palle Danielsson, John Taylor

As It Is ( ECM 1594 )

Recorded in September 1995, this trio is reminiscent of the trio led by Bill Evans and the recordings are fairly quiet and introspective and somewhat restrained.The group is led by drummer Peter Erskine though most of the material is written by pianist John Taylor, who Erskine met in the 80's while a member of John Abercrombie Trio. They have been friends since then and got to work together on Music For Large And Small Ensembles, and also The Widow In The Window.

At times improvisational, the trio none the less doesn't deviate to the point of losing the listener in what they are doing as could have been the case with a lot of free style jazz recordings. Instead a lot of the notes are left to resonate and shimmer. Also not being a big fan of drums, I may add that the drums are not played too loudly, which as this is Erskine's project could have well been the case here.

Erskine's background is in big bands and electric jazz formats and this trio was a bit of a change for him by the sounds of things. Erskine in an interview claims it was a departure but also an arrival in the way that he normally worked. John Taylor is a self taught pianist, influenced by composers like Debussy and Ravel. In fact on this recording he includes Sir William Walton's Touch Her Soft Lips And Part, a fairly melancholic piece of music if ever there was one. In the past he has worked with Jan Garbarek and Miroslav Vitous. Palle Danielsson is another one of the long term stayers for ECM. He has been around since the early seventies, played with the likes of Garbarek and Vitous, as well as Collin Walcott and lately has been involved in the excellent Nordan projects, investigating Swedish music alongside Lena Willemark and Ale Moller.

Like a lot of ECM this is sensitive and intelligent and thoughtful playing by three very talented musicians. This is inwards looking music if you like that kind of thing. And I do.

 

"AS It Is" by trio made of Peter Erskine, pianist John Taylor and Swedish bassist Palle Danielson is deffinetly an essential jazz recording. Trio that developed a unique style and more important sound They gave everything to this recording. Posessing a certain classical quality, the music is very easy to listen to but subcounciously very intriguing. These three musicians mastered their instrument and it shows. The best word to describe this music is deep. Deffinetly a must have.

Fans of drumming great Peter Erskine will enjoy this tasteful recording where even when Erskine's presence is strong, the compositional thrust remains on track, and very interactive with the percussives.

Bass, Drums and Paino. Can't get any more basic then that. This is one of the first jazz records I picked up. Well worth it. This album has many many moods and the sound production is probly one of the best that I've heard. I play drums and I looooooove Peter's drum sound, his bass drum specificly.
Esperanca is definitely a stand out track. Peter shrrrrrrrrrreeds! AMAZING song! Every penny is worth that song.

Drummer Peter Erskine, probably best known for his stint with Weather Report, plays on this CD as part of a piano trio with ECM stalwarts John Taylor on piano and Palle Danielsson on bass. As would be expected from a session with John Taylor on piano, the performance has a probing quality, not rich in notes, but rich in feeling. All three members of the trio share in the music making, and the interaction between the three is a joy to hear. This is music of shadings and subtleties, but the performance is assertive and confident.