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Craig Taborn Trio: Chants

By Dan McClenaghan
April 17, 2013
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Pianist

Craig Taborn

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Craig Taborn's first ECM Records release under his own name, Avenging Angel (2011), garnered well-deserved praise as a worthy entry into the German label's long line of solo piano recordings by stellar artists such as

Paul Bley

piano
1932 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Bley,

Chick Corea

piano
1941 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Chick Corea and, of course,

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett. With Chants, a piano trio outing, Taborn will be held up for comparison against the label's ongoing piano trio explorations by

Marcin Wasilewski

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcin Wasilewski,

Stefano Battaglia

piano
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Stefano Battaglia,

Bobo Stenson

piano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobo Stenson,

Benedikt Jahnel

piano
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Benedikt Jahnel, and (again, of course)

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett. And it must be said that Taborn and his trio mates—bassist

Thomas Morgan

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Thomas Morgan and drummer

Gerald Cleaver

drums
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Cleaver—stack up against the competition extremely well.

Avenging Angel is a very good recording, with Taborn's singular vision, alone at the keyboard, shining through. It is quirky, intense, cerebral and idiosyncratic, and unrelentingly surprising. Chants is better. Like fellow pianist

Brad Mehldau

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Mehldau, Taborn—in order to rise to the highest level of his artistry—needs an ensemble; he needs to respond to other musicians. With Morgan and Cleaver he has found the perfect foils.

The opener, "Saints," has a relentless momentum that shifts—and it's anyone's guess which of the trio signaled the shift—into a floating, free-form reverie in which Taborn maintains an intensity, and a density of notes, that eventually leads back into more forward momentum. "Beat the Ground" begins with a repeated piano phrase in front of Morgan's loping bass, and Cleaver's drum tumult. It's a subversive sound, a musical accompaniment to dark forces mobilizing.

The compelling, edge-of-the-seat one-two punch of the first two tunes leads into the gear shift of "In Chant," a sound full of mystery as Taborn employs space and spare, well-chosen notes and delicacy of touch, with a intricate segment of bass and drums interplay, with the piano laying out, that's as profound-sounding and as gorgeous as it gets, with Cleaver sounding—with the whispering cymbals and gentle friction and soft almost subliminal percussion—as if he's involved in a try-out to fill drummer

Paul Motian

drums
1931 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Motian's shoes, employing subtlety and seductive complexities and orchestral percussion explorations, acing the audition.

"Hot Blood" is a tight, agitated, angular four minutes, leading into the disc's centerpiece, the near-thirteen minute "All True Night/Future Perfect." This is where the genius of this trio blossoms. On a sprawling tune that drifts through different dimensions, the trio enters a Zen state of cohesive improvisation, a beautifully surreal dreamscape born of an ego-less equilibrium.

Craig Taborn's sideman/worked-with resume is huge. He hasn't been so prolific as a leader. But he has established himself as a rare original. And with his move to ECM Records, for 2011's Avenging Angel and now with, especially, Chants, he has moved into the category of top level jazz pianists.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Saints; Beat The Ground; In Chant; Hot Blood; All True Night / Future Perfect; Cracking Hearts; Silver Ghosts; Silver Days Or Love; Speak The Name.

Personnel

Craig Taborn

piano

Craig Taborn: piano; Thomas Morgan: double bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

Album information

Title: Chants | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: ECM Records

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