Time Being

Album review

During the '90s and early 2000s, a group calling itself Trio 3 was responsible for some of the most gratifying manifestations in all of jazz-based creative music. Each of the three participants embodies a wealth of first-hand experience gained by living and working at the epicenters of crucial developments in late 20th century improvised music. Oliver Lake co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet and has released more than 30 albums as a leader. Bassist Reggie Workman participated in several of John Coltrane's legendary Impulse sessions during the early ‘60s and later made quite a number of recordings with Mal Waldron. A thrilling example of a Workman-led project is his album Cerebral Caverns, released on the Postcards label in 1995. Percussionist Andrew Cyrille's creative mission is strongly rooted in his years of service as a member of the Cecil Taylor Unit, and subsequent developments as leader and collaborator established him as a veritable archetype of anchored spontaneity. There are no weak links in Trio 3's discography, which includes collaborations with pianists Irene Schweizer and Geri Allen. Everything associated with Trio 3 involves collectively coordinated music of unusual potency. Released in 2006 on the Intakt Records label, their album Time Being was recorded in Brooklyn over the course of three days in early March 2005. Strongly steeped in lessons learned over three lifetimes devoted to the arts of shared imaginative exploration, Time Being works well when compared and contrasted with Cyrille and Workman's trio outing Reflections, an album they recorded with Finnish free jazz saxophonist/flutist Juhani Aaltonen in November 2002. Time Being may serve as a definitive example of how Trio 3 expands upon the blended modern traditions within which each individual has developed and ripened over the years.

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