Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Trio Linguae: Signals

Trio Linguae: Signals

By Jack Bowers
September 22, 2020
View read count

Signals introduces the snug and simpatico Trio Linguae ("lin-gwee") from western Canada whose unusual makeup (trumpet, guitar, piano) doesn't hinder it from painting a series of shapely and pleasing portraits in sound. Trumpeter

Kevin Woods

trumpet
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Kevin Woods had been performing with his compatriots—pianist

Miles Black

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Black, guitarist

John Stowell

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">John Stowell—for more than a decade but never before on the same stage. Aligning them together, which was not Woods' original plan, proved to be a master stroke, as they entwine in unison like the proverbial hand in glove.

Nine of the album's eleven selections are original compositions: four by Woods, two by Black, one each by

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans ("Peri's Scope"), Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Inutil Paisagem") and

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter ("Virgo"). The remaining themes, from the Great American Songbook, are among the loveliest ever written: "I Hear a Rhapsody," which closes the session, and Harold Arlen's "My Shining Hour." Even in the face of that competition, the melodies by Woods and Black hold their ground, and Woods' buoyant "Big T's" even earns a well-deserved niche on the ample highlight reel. Woods plays trumpet, open or muted, and flugelhorn, awakening in most instances memories of the late great

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker who is no doubt a direct precursor and perhaps a primal influence.

Stowell, who is listed as playing on every number, is prominent on some, almost inaudible on others, but always supportive and tasteful, while Black is an able soloist and accompanist in the image of the aforementioned Bill Evans and other masters such as

Tommy Flanagan

piano
1930 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Tommy Flanagan,

Kenny Barron

piano
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Barron and George Cables, to name only three. If there is a misstep it is on "I Hear a Rhapsody," wherein the trio insist on dancing around the changes instead of allowing the exquisite melody to speak for itself. But that's a minor gaffe in an otherwise splendid sequence of charmers, and it does come at the very end. It's hardly enough to mar an impressive debut by three talented musicians who give rise, as their opening number asserts, to "No Regrets," nor should they have any in the afterglow of an opening performance that surely deserves an encore.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Few Regrets; Solo en Viento Sabe; Peri��s Scope; Signals; My Shining Hour; Since Last December; Big T��s; Inutil Paisagem; One for B.E.; Virgo; I Hear a Rhapsody.

Personnel

Kevin Woods

trumpet

John Stowell

guitar, electric

Miles Black

piano

Album information

Title: Signals | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Origin Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Georgia Anne Muldrow, Hal Willner, B...
< Previous

History Gets Ahead of the Story
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.