Trip the Light Fantastic

My review two years ago of the previous CD by the same trio E Pluribus Unum (Jazzwise 145) noted the influence of free-jazz, particularly in rhythmic terms. This is more obvious in the playing on the new album, and more explicit yet in its liner-note interview, detailing how the concept of rubato (i.e. pushing ahead and pulling behind an implied beat) consciously informs the approach of Galper and his co-workers. It's still the case that the harmonic and textural traditions of piano trio jazz are adhered to, so that whether an original or one of the three standards, things are relatively easy to follow - except rhythmically. There appear to be a couple of instances in the standards where the participants are having difficulty following each other, and the occasional periods of relative straightahead timing are a welcome relief. Just as with the 1960s avant-garde, a reliable beat can make melodic or harmonic adventurousness acceptable, but it's less easy to rely on common harmonic-melodic conventions if the rhythm is (even deliberately) all over the place.