Russ Lossing / Ed Schuller / Paul Motian - As It Grows

[Nate Dorward]

A new Hatology disc--a piano trio with a pianist I've not come across before. I have a slightly ambivalent reaction to this one: in many ways it's a very fine disc, & yet it's a bit narrow in focus--as if Lossing's concentrating on one aspect of Paul Bley's music, distilling it to his own ends. It's very clean, but if I told you it sounded like a cross between Bley's Not Two Not One, Crispell's Amaryllis & Nothing Ever Was Anyway, & Masabumi Kikuchi's series of Tethered Moon discs, maybe touches of Plimley/Ellis's Kaleidoscopes....well, you'd know almost exactly what this sounded like. Anyway, if you like those groups you'll probably be sympathetic to this, but I found the disc a bit....bandwagonish, perhaps. Still, Lossing's obviously an interesting player--I suspect that if he had a horn or guitar to bounce off then the music might sound a little fresher.

[jazzfiend]

Haven't heard the trio disc, but Lossing is quite impressive on altoist John O'Gallagher's excellent recent release, Abacus, (Arabesque AJ0164) which also includes fine performances from Ben Monder, Johannes Weidenmueller, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. One of my faves for 2004.

[LeMo]

I like Lossing's record better than the recent Crispells.
And a lot more than the Masabumi Kikuchi's one who are empty shells.
The connection with Bley is obvious. He is also close to the french pianist of the new generation (I mean the interesting ones) like Raulin & Oliva.

There's something interesting with this album: it didn't make much impression at first (everything is so much tonal and so clean) but it starts to grow on me after few and close listenings.

I can't say the same from recent Crispell's.

[Nate Dorward]

Yes I've been meaning to check out Abacus--it sounds interesting. Lossing's good on the trio disc but I suspect I'd warm to him more in the larger setting.

Nah I don't like Crispell's ECM discs much. Kikuchi I have a soft spot for--try his off-the-wall work on Helen Merrill's You & the Night & the Music (who'dve thought of hiring a pianist who growls & moans, Jarrett-style, often louder than the vocalist herself? Yet he really does sound good on there--"Young & Foolish" in particular).