This Double Trio project, put together by the virtuous Boston-born, New York-based percussionist Tomas Fujiwara, fits in the contemporary jazz panorama with a laudable degree of excellence. The band, two mirrors of the same nature, comprises a pair of horns, masterfully handled by Ralph Alessi and Taylor Ho Bynum, a pair of hooky guitars, whose barbed sounds are fruit of the imagination of Mary Halvorson and Brandon Seabrook, and two drums, provocatively banged by Gerald Cleaver and the bandleader himself.
“Triple Double” features ten tracks that morph from catchy indie rock to sparkling avant-garde jazz and vice-versa.
One can admire the group’s suppleness right in the opening track. The ternary “Diving For Quarters” primarily strikes with a double six-string roam. A variety of snoopy sounds, from squeals to hollow tones
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His shimmering technique prone to syncopation can be further enjoyed on “For Alan”, a percussion duet homaging Fujiwara’s mentor Alan Dawson.
In order to subdue the vivid intensity, moments of sheer musing were prepared on pieces such as “Hurry Home B/G”, an ethereal pop song propelled by brushed drumming and tweaked by guitar effects, “Hurry Home M/T”, and “Love and Protest”. The latter composition counterbalances a dreamy vulnerability in its texture due to Halvorson’s tart slide guitar, which works in opposition to the effervescent drumming and melodic flights that relentlessly push us toward a shivering climax.
“Pocket Pass” and “Decisive Shadow” bursts with avid energy and verve. The former lifts off with swift guitar embroidery, rhythmic assaults, and improvised cogitations that later take the form of a horn polyphony; the latter is a trancelike exploration filled with mesmerizing sounds, scintillating solos, and ultimately telling power