International Anthem @ Public Records (Volume 4) 121022 (Live)

Album review

A Qobuz Exclusive

This particular recording is split into four songs but the set itself bore few separations. A full and immersive listen bears that out—nothing stops, per se, but transitions until the final song. Opener "Meta-Ideations," meanders through several stylistic changes in 19 minutes without a hiccup, showcasing the control Carlos Niño, Surya Botofasina and Adam Rudolph have even in improvisational settings.

The highlight of the evening is "It's Nice and Warm, Warm Inside" with a soothing vocal intro from Niño. "We are warming … inside, it's warm and welcoming in here," he whispers. If you've seen any of these musicians perform, they often offer short benedictory introductions to earmark a new song. In this case, the dead of winter made it easy to connect to the audience. Besides a respite from the cold, the trio provided longform moments of clarity and precision, a break from norms and noise in a city that provides far too few of those.

The collective history here—Botofasina was raised on Alice Coltrane’s Shanti Anantam Ashram; Niño has impeccable taste in collaborators; Rudolph has pioneered music from different walks of the world—allows for playful movements juxtaposed with extended ambient moments. Their peacefulness resonates to an obviously attentive crowd and, for a moment, it is easy to forget that the set had to end at all. © Jeff Laughlin/Qobuz