Joel Frahm Trio LUMINATION
JOEL FRAHM TRIO
LUMINATION
Anzic Records
Joel Frahm, tenor saxophone/composer; Dan Loomis, bass; Ernesto Cervini, drums.
Joel Frahm has formed a chord-less trio with bass and drums becoming the rhythm section and support system for his tenor saxophone. Starting with the very first track, “The Nurse is in” I fall in love with Frahm’s tone and the trio’s presentation. This first tune was penned by drummer Cervini and is a Straight-ahead, melodic piece with lots of quick breaks and challenging intervals to satisfy true jazz lovers.
“Lumination” is their second album release. After a successful world tour, where the trio garnered rave reviews, they returned home and headed for the studio. Frahm has written most of the pieces on this new album. A tune titled, “Loomie Nation” features bassist Dan Loomis. Clearly, Frahm has a love of melody and exhibits this in his compositions. He and Loomis have an instrumental conversation between horn and bass, trading musical phrases like ‘smack’ talk, bantering back and forth.
A song Frahm calls “Moonface Lament” is a ballad that rolls the melody out like a red carpet to the stars. The countermelodies being played between double bass and tenor saxophone are lovely. Speaking of the bassist, Dan Loomis has contributed a few original tunes to this project. One is “False Spring” that’s quite funky, with a melody that makes me sing along. Joel Frahm cuts loose on this tune, letting his horn tell the story with great energy and excitement. An up-tempo swing tune called, “Loo-Lee” takes me back to the realms of Straight-ahead jazz and bebop days. Cervini slaps the rhythm in place without compunction and Loomis is given time to solo, exploring the chord changes on paper with his own improvisations. This is a wonderful project, full of adventure, excellent musicianship, and individual creativity that all works together, like salt, pepper and potatoes in the stew.
Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil
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