Customer Reviews

Trio Music

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the album involving the same personnel as the classic "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs" -album. "Now He Sings" is now recognized as one of the most important trio records of all time (regardless of the fact that DownBeat critics gave it one star back in -68, but what do the critics know?). Therefore it's quite difficult to top the groups prior achievment. Roy Haynes on drums and Miroslav Vitous on bass are splendid players but for some reason they don't play as tightly as in "Now he Sings". The members had never played before the sessions of the first record, neither had they between the first and this one. This can be heard, I think. Of course everything still happens on a very high level. This is a double album. The first one is entirely Monk- standards. Corea is well aquainted with the personal expression of T.S. Monk and treats his tunes with his usual wit and intelligence but at the same time showing great respect. Up-tempo "Rhythm-a-Ning" and brightly colourful "Round Midnight" stand out in my opinion. This album proves (as if it's not allready proven) that Monk tunes can be treated a million ways and still they remind you of Monk. A blessing and a curse, perhaps. The other record is totally improvised free music. The tunes are left unnamed. The big ears and enormous musicality combined with super-sharp reflexes of all the players make these short pieces quite interesting. They have a well-balanced sense of form not to extend the tunes too much and have picked improvisations different from one another (I don't know how many they recorded, probably a lot). This is not perhaps the very finest of Corea, but still I would seriously recommend it to anyone interested in this major pianist.

Buy this album just for Haynes. The finest work ever as far as Hard bop drumming. The tones are unreal ! Monk's tunes are played like never before ( except by the master itself !).

With players like Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous (from Weather Report) and Roy Haynes, you'd think that this would be an awesome album. It certainly has its moments, but overall it seems to be a bit empty. The first half of the disc are improv pieces that seem to blend into one another. The second half (the stronger half) is a collection of Monk tunes. If the Monk covers would have been inserted between each of the improv pieces, it would have been a more enjoyable listen. The tracks would be a bit easier to distinguish from one to the next.
This is for fans of Chick Corea only. The general audience may be a bit turned off by this one. ...

This album is unreal my jazz pals. It is an ECM double cd package so the price isn't friendly, but it deserves your attention believe me. I was a little bit perplexed in the shop because I read the previous reviews here where a couple of guys said the abstract part (the first cd) wasn't that great. Well, now that luckly I have bought this album, I can say that these guys are wrong, terribly wrong. But let's go on with order. The cover rightly have only the names of these greats on it. It seems saying "Corea, Haynes, Vitous" what else you need to know more? And infact you don't need to know nothing more especially if you like me, already own the other ECM album these giants recorded, "Trio music: Live in Europe". That album was unbelievable, but this one absolutly is no less marvellous. The first cd is made of eight abstract tunes that melt one into the other. It is great what can I say, the interplay is sublime and every player shines. The only thing that personally I could stay without are some parts from Miroslav where he plays with the arch. But it is only a matter of taste. 7 tunes are perfectly abstract tunes .. the last one "Slippery when wet" is a little more prepared tune. What you can hear are three giants for real in the process of creating new music. Some abstract, free jazz albums are boring. I know it. Not this one. The second cd is made only of Thelonious Monk's compositions and I can say, Monk never sounded so good, so right, so intense. I love Monk of course, but it seems to me that in this album these guys surpassed even the master. It is unbelievable how good is this ECM from Chick and the guys. I TOTALLY agree witht the guy who pointed out in his review Roy's drumming. I mean .... you can't beat Roy. He's the number one guy behind the drums. Here he proved why. And one last very important thing. This cd has unreal tones, it is recorded magnificiently. My plause. Hat off to ECM. This album is a MUST, inescapable if you love Jazz trio.

With Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes, 13 years after their first meeting " Now He Sings, Now He Sobs ", it is a real pleasure with this double CD ( In fact one ) : 5 free improvisations in trio and two in duo piano/bass + Slippery When Met in trio - 7 Thelonious Monk's classical tunes. The music is gorgeous, the sound is perfect, a beautiful jazz trio, no doubt the most musical ... To get absolutely right away ! Emilio Leroy ( Dordogne, France ).

The first half of stylized improvisations comes across a little too obtuse, but the second side of Monk covers definitely amends the disc from being a dud.

Chick Corea doesn't belong to the list of my favorite piano players, however this album is a very vivid and well done work featuring the incredible Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes. I wish Chick could always stick with acoustic bands, I don,t like his electric groups.