Music Review | Bill Frisell, Ron Carter and Paul Motian

[7/4]

December 7, 2007

Music Review | Bill Frisell, Ron Carter and Paul Motian

Three Stars Embracing One Sun-Warped Vision

By NATE CHINEN, NY Times

The problem with most all-star aggregations is a clash of competing egos or mismatched agendas. Not so with the trio appearing at the Blue Note this week. Composed of the guitarist Bill Frisell, the bassist Ron Carter and the drummer Paul Motian, this is an all-star group that inhabits an atmosphere of accord. Instead of sparks it emits a soft, warm glow.

This reflects the aesthetic of Mr. Frisell, who functions here as the first among equals. In performance on Wednesday night, he coaxed themes forward with a gentle nudge. Several of his compositions turned up in the set list, including a calmly beautiful, deceptively simple étude called “Throughout.” Even the choice of nonoriginals hewed to his usual ideal: a sun-warped dream vision of the American heartland, with unostentatious jazz inflections.

There’s a strategy of willful primitivism in modern jazz — or maybe it’s resourceful naïveté — that Mr. Frisell shares with Mr. Motian. (They have history together, notably in a longstanding trio with the tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano.) It’s not a model one associates with Mr. Carter, who exudes steadfast skill and erudition. So naturally there was some light tension in the set, notably on “Monroe,” a country waltz by Mr. Frisell. Approaching what amounted to a drone, Mr. Carter fashioned a row of nimble patterns and spidery runs. The only way this filigree would have been more impressive is if it had better suited the song.

Elsewhere in the set, though, Mr. Carter sounded at home. Often he struck an alliance with Mr. Frisell, clamping down on a groove. Their coziness with the sauntering pace of “You Are My Sunshine” provoked Mr. Motian’s stubbornly contrarian side: using brushes, a hi-hat and an unrelated shadow tempo, he created the impression of an errant transistor radio playing softly in another part of the room.

At other moments the group interaction was more conventional, with bass and drums advancing the action. “Eighty-One,” a piece by Mr. Carter dating to his tenure with Miles Davis (who shares a composer credit), conveyed this straightforward cohesion. So did a medium-brisk rendition of “On the Street Where You Live,” though Mr. Carter sat out the verses at first, letting his colleagues tease and peck their way through.

Still, the general vibe was more respectful than playful, which made sense. The musicians were performing as a trio for the first time since they made “Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian,” an album issued last year on Nonesuch. The music on the album is handsome, well mannered and a bit sleepy, and those qualities are largely on display again this week.

But on “Introduction,” a sparsely hazy tone poem by Mr. Motian, and then again on “Raise Four,” a tritone-oriented blues by Thelonious Monk, the trio flirted with a simmering intensity. Those were the last two numbers, and they carried the tantalizing suggestion that everything before them — the album along with the rest of the set — had merely been preparatory. With any luck, and some effort, the engagement can still bear that out.

Bill Frisell, Ron Carter and Paul Motian continue through Sunday at the Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village; (212) 475-8592, bluenote.net.

[Aggie87]

Would love to see these guys!

[7/4]

Another show I had to miss this season.