In the years since 2002, Adam Lane (1968, Brooklyn, NY) has shown clearly through a series of notably distinct recordings that he is a musical personality of considerable breadth and depth. And the quality and variety of his work in that relatively brief period also shows that he is still an emerging talent.
For this date, Adam draws from associates from his West Coast period. Adam had spoken to me about this trio as far back as 2003 and, based on the aural evidence he presented, the chemistry seemed right and conducive to expansive music. Later reports from their performance at the 2004 San Francisco Alternative Music Fest seemed to confirm my earlier listenings.
Vijay Anderson (1978, Torrance, CA) is a member of the never-ending next generation of artists. A graduate (in music) from San Francisco State, he studied with, among others, Eddie Marshall and Hafez Modirzadeh and is part of the rather active Bay Area creative improvised music scene. He has worked innumerable times with Adam and is part of Adam's Full Throttle Orchestra (Cadence Jazz Records 1133).
Vinny Golia (1946, Bronx, NY) really needs no introduction. His talents are equal to his perseverance of over three decades in this music. Vinny first played The Spirit Room back before it was The Spirit Room, and, in part, played a part inthe genesis of this space. He's played and visited many times and his volatility of spirit has a special appreciation among us CIMPers.
This date came at almost the end of a short 6-gig tour in which the trio covered New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Emails and phone calls from Adam regarding the success of the music verged on hyperbole. Hopefully that would not be the case for this recording.
Adam's previously stated intention was to start recording by 1 p.m. and, while Vijay looked shell-shocked (was it the sub-zero temperatures, the bright sun, or clean, fresh air?), by 11:30 a.m. he was wandering around glazed but wide-eyed with a cup of coffee held prayerfully out in front of him. By a bit after noon the sound check was in progress. The group sounded very strong and full-bodied as they worked out on Adam's catchy To Avenue X. So strong were the checks that the issued take here is in fact the last take from the checks. A note about Vijay's drum kit: the basic 3-piece is a floor tom, a bass (pedal) drum (fashioned out of an old floor tom), and a snare with the hi-hat and bass drum anchored to Vijay's seat by a series of strings. A modest arrangement for a drummer of more than modest ability as isolated listening to his polyrhythms and, in some moments, his abilities as colorist will confirm. Vijay's light but precise touch leaves the much-needed space for Adam's basswork.
This is a nicely attentive group. The history between Adam and Vijay showsin the interaction between the two, especially behind some of Vinny's solo excursions, an interlaced building of a dynamic, or intuitively fluttering to accent a crescendo. Yet, as much as it's Adam's gig as leader, composer, and bassman, it's the integrated and individual strengths that putthe power into the punch of this music. And it's a punch over a broad plane ranging from straight ahead Free Bop to the sustaining impressionism of In our time. Both Vinny and Adam have strong backgrounds in dealing with structure and form and that compositional strength shores up the improvisedpresentations to add to their greater dimensions. Add to that Adam's gift for melody and you need only combine and balance to make rewarding listening. And did I mention his bass playing ...?
All these elements continued to unfold over the afternoon of playing as one strong take followed another.In fact, the only impediments were Adam's quest for some elusive perfection, tweaking this and that in what seemed to me a rather circular exercise but one that could have taken away time from the moment – and the moment was indeed happening.
These moments happened consistently all through theafternoon. Before nightfall we had a full program. But there was still more music to expose and, so, after supper and some R&R we continued, picking up where we left off—on Dance—and the first second-take of the day. On this second take, Vinny switched to soprano; overall the group produced a more reflective reading of the piece. I enjoyed both takes and, while I felt there was a slight ebb in the focus about four and a half minutes into take one, everything was resolved within seconds, with the resulting strength of the whole far outweighing any perceived momentary weakness. It perhaps should be noted that Dance (take 1) immediately followed Without being, an exceptional and transcendent outing relative to any recording. By the end of the evening, 14 complete takes had been logged. Thirteen of those takes are on these recordings, all of them first takes except where noted.
The next morning, still enthused, Adam said he still had some material he wanted to get to. This included a second take of Relaxing with Vinny and a musical pairing for Spin with the EARth/Clouds, referencing the individual works but making a different whole.
We ended where we began, but now in a very different place, with a revisit to To Avenue X.
This turned out to be somewhat of a marathon session and it was as if no wrong could be done. That happens. Be glad the spirit was with the artists, the tapes were rolling, and the fidelity was true. Those present were riding high on this experience. Give this music the maximum effort of your attention. Any demands you make of it will be satisfied and there will still be a reserve. Great art is like that. It's a beautiful thing.
Robert D. Rusch - Feb. 25, 2005
Titles that are discussed but do not appear on this recording are on CIMP 335.
