The age of the great piano trios may be past, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any truly great piano trios operating today. Keith Jarrett has been going with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock for about thirty-five years, now. On the more adventurous side, you’ve got Matthew Shipp’s threesome. And then there’s Steve Kuhn’s current, three-man unit with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron.
Kuhn has been around longer than just about any of the master jazz pianists going today, perhaps the dean of ‘em all after the recent passing of Paul Bley. I don’t mean to make him sound old, though, but instead note that some fifty-five years after briefly playing in John Coltrane’s band, Kuhn continues to make fresh, vibrant music, even with this tried-and-true structure. His latest outing At This Time goes on sale March 18, 2016, marking a return to Sunnyside Records after a memorable two-record stint with ECM.
[STREAM “MY SHINING HOUR” BY THE STEVE KUHN TRIO]
The Baron/Swallow rhythm section makes only its second appearance on a Kuhn record (following 2012’s Wisteria), and the solidifying of this trio continues for At This Time. That much is clear straight out of the gate with a ebullient take on the classic Arlen and Mercer composition “My Shining Hour.”
Kuhn is not the kind of pianist whose going to chop up a melody and true to form, he gives this one a graceful flow. Swallow, on electric bass, walks with that pulsing, metronomic electric tone and Baron swings but in his own method, very loose and so attuned to Kuhn, and his series of short solos serve as a natural extension of the piano’s stream.
Fifty years ago, Swallow appeared on another Kuhn trio record Three Waves with Pete La Roca on drums. Kuhn was an original and dynamic pianist back then, and that young spirit is very much present today on “My Shining Hour” and the rest of At This Time.
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