Ross Lossing Trio

Moon Inhabitants

Sunnyside

Pianist and composer Ross Lossing can paint utterly visual and at times hilarious imagery such as his 2023 “Alternate Side Parking.” Here on “Moon Inhabitants” he steps out in another challenging way, creating a floating sensation through music. Considering the makeup of a conventional piano trio with bass and drums, this seems practically impossible. What happens to the rhythm elements? you’re likely thinking. In fact though, he’s not the first to take this route, and he’s taken a similar path before on the trio’s 2019 “Motian Music.”  Rossing has always been a major devotee of the late drummer Paul Motian, who stamped himself with ability to play elastically, or around the beat in free improvisation, especially with the trio of pianist Paul Bley, bassist Gary Peacock. Rossing goes a bit further than simply Motian’s music here on “Moon Inhabitants” by mixing originals with compositions from other jazz and classical composers. He delivers the album with his 25 year tenured trio of bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Billy Mintz as they essentially shun gravity to somehow create a weightless feeling.

Opener “Moon Inhabitants” is an Ornette Coleman tune, the angular, at times swinging tune rife with start-stop rhythms and free improvisation, as Rossing dances all over the 88s. In an interesting sleight of programming, he follows delicately with the rubato melody of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Little Swans,” each note floating as if suspended in ether, or, better yet, a leaf calmly floating on the lake. Kamaguchi is ‘dancing along’ with the pianist while Mintz is subtly keeping pace with his brushwork until the bassist makes a statement that spurs Rossing into further improvisation, while maintaing the weightless feel. Rossing calls his trio’s explorations “almost strict time,” a shining example of which is another Ornette piece, “Jayne” as the trio stretches the rope as if in a tug of war, one member exerting the dominant strength and energy before it shifts to another. MIntz and Kamaguchi seem to especially revel in this one which bounces along nicely powered by Rossing’s rapid fire liquid runs.

The requisite ballad comes with Harold Arlen’s “Last Night When We Were Young” painting it with touches of the blues as the trio moves with a whisper to the point where the alternating  short phrases and shimmering runs become hypnotic and trance-like, yet beautiful throughout.  Kamaguchi’s dark, authoritative bass leads into Sonny Rollins” “Pent-Up House,” aptly named as the trio unleashes their reserved energy, playing still in jagged, non linear fashion as they lock into a joyous swing.

Lossing positions his three originals at the end of the album. His “Being” begins as if one is tiptoeing through the hall quietly at 3 AM, slinking through determined not to disturb anyone as Mintz again judiciously rings his ride cymbal. As the piece evolves, the shackles dissolve, and the trio plays with more fervor as maybe they’re now in a living room or side room conducive to slightly louder free expression. “Tulip” moves even further in that direction, similar to “Pent-Up House” in cadence and approach. The gloves are off as Mintz states in his own turn. The final piece, “Verse,” at over ten minutes consists of three movements with the common thread of a long unison line that continually gets embellished, twisted, deconstructed, and revived. It reads almost like a soundtrack to a mystery, leaving us in suspense as to where the piece is headed. It too, in a rather odd way, creates that floating sensation as the piano seems to be on a different plane than the bass and drums, who are in their own rumbling world below. Yet, the bassist’s muscular solo and consistent flow especially shine in this piece.

The Ross Lossing Trio digs into this notion of elasticity, firmly embracing the beat while at other times dancing around it, refusing to be adhered to conventional structures. It makes for fascinating listening.

– Jim Hynes

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