Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Myriad3: Moons

Myriad3: Moons

By Dan McClenaghan
May 16, 2016
View read count

Someone's always trying to take a tried and true format out on a new tangent. Consider the piano trio: Bill Evans introduced deep, classically-influenced harmonics and a democracy of instrumental input in the late fifties and early sixties. The Esbjorn Svennson Trio (e.s.t.) brought in classical, rock, pop and techno elements;

The Bad Plus

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.2000

" data-original-title="" title="">The Bad Plus plays with avant-garde jazz and pop/rock influences, and they can be loud. Even the tried and true changes. It's all good; and some of it is great.

Myriad3

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Myriad3, a forward-leaning piano trio out of Toronto, Canada, has released their fourth CD, Moons, taking the piano trio format on a modernistic tangent of their own. It's three stellar musicians—all of them superior tune smith's—who take on the form with an equilibrium of input, an energetic verve and intelligence, some catchy grooves and strong compositions, straight through.

"Counter of the Cumulus," the only non-original of the set, opens with a majestic bombast before shifting into a

Nik Bärtsch

piano
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Nik B?rtsch-like groove. "Skeleton Key," from the pen of the group's pianist,

Chris Donnelly

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Donnelly, plays out as a rock dirge.

Ernesto Cervini

drums
b.1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Ernesto Cervini's drums shift from a muscular grandiosity to a whispered shuffle;

Dan Fortin

bass, acoustic
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Fortin plays a yearning heartbeat to the pianist's delicate wind chimes, until the groove reasserts itself. A marvelously engaging, mood-shifting tune for the opening for an album.

,
Cervini's "Noyammas" has a dark, furtive quality, a beautiful avant-garde piece that evolves and changes shapes as it rides time's flow. Bassist Fortin's "Exhausted Clock" wraps the set up with a graceful, subdued ballad. Gorgeous and wistful, a small masterpiece of subtle three-way interplay.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Skeleton Key; Noyammas; Unnamed Cells; Storner; Peak Fall; Counter Of The Cumulus; Ameliasburg; Sketch 8; Moons; Brother Dom; Exhausted Clock.

Personnel

Myriad3

band / ensemble / orchestra

Chris Donnelly: piano, synth; upright bass, fretless, synth; Ernesto Cervini: drums, glockenspiel.

Album information

Title: Moons | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Alma Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Taking Flight
< Previous

Plays The Music Of Alvin P. Buckley
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.