With a rhythm section of Kris Davis (piano), Dave Holland (bass), and Terri Lyne Carrington (drums), chances are good that the music will be satisfying. Top that off with the playing and composition skills of the two leaders of the In Common quintet, saxophonist Walter Smith III and guitarist Matthew Stevens, and you’ve got something a lot more than good.
Jazz speaks in many dialects, or maybe it’s more accurate to say that different musical genres find it easy to apply jazz techniques to their native material. Gilfema (Lionel Loueke, Massimo Biolcati, Ferenc Nemeth) applies them to a West African musical palette; the Kenny Barron|Dave Holland Trio, Featuring Johnathan Blake, to a collection of compositions squarely in the mainstream of the American jazz tradition; Grégoire Maret, Romain Collin, and Bill Frisell, to a range of material in the Americana songbook. In sum, we have three outstanding trios offering three satisfying new recordings across a range of sensibilities.
