Crimson Jazz Trio (??)

While searching to try and buy "The Great Deceiver" box set came across a plug for a new album to be  released 14th November by "The Crimson Jazz Trio" (?) called "King Crimson Songbook Vol1" and featuring cover versions of 8 Crimson tracks including 21st CSM, Starless, Red and Matte Kudasai. Features a certain Ian Wallace apparently.

The blurb talks about the Trio "respectfully and irreverently" re-arranging the material.

Anyone know anything of this project? The plug is on Amazon.co.uk. under King Crimson (sorry - failed to add the link here but its easy to find).




Edited by Phil

Dick Heath wrote: I started  a thread on the same subject in August: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10132& amp; amp;KW=Crimson+Jazz+Trio which might give a few extra snippets. Sid Smith's Diaries did a piece of the album (which has been delayed about 10 weeks from the original release date) in July. Sid sent me a promo at the beginning of August - enjoyable, (almost chill out) and traditional  acoustic piano/bass/drums jazz*, less up to date in style than Brad Mehldau (it would be interesting to hear BM do KC, since his interpretations of Nick Drake and Radiohead compositions are excellent), Hiromi (her first album had a lot of reviewers suggesting some KC influence) and EST. (*even Wallace sounds more a jazz drummer than a former rock drummer) Have you checked out CJT's website recently?

Thanks for the info Dick as always you are remarkably well informed! No I haven't tried the band's web-site.

Play London, that's all I ask!

CJ3 HQ wrote: Phil wrote: Thanks for the info Dick as always you are remarkably well informed! No I haven't tried the band's web-site. Thanks to Dick for spreading the word and thanks to you Phil for your curiosity.  Stop by and check out the site www.crimsonjazztrio.com We've got a couple of sound clips up for you to check out and feel free to leave your thoughts on the guestbook.  The cd will be out in Europe on November 14 and in the US on November 15.  And for anyone in the Los Angeles area, there is a cd release party on November 11th...see the band website for details. And I'm around if anyone has any questions or thoughts they'd like to share...great place you've got here! Best wishes, Margie CJ3 HQ

 

Does the band realise King Crimson Song Book Vol 1 charted in Jazzwise magazine last month in the UK National Student Jazz Chart!? Here's a review waiting for Crimson Jazz Trio insertion here (or have I missed it), which in a shorter form appeared in Fusenet (the jazz rock fusion discusson group).

 

Crimson Jazz Trio: The King Crimson Song Book Volume 1 (Voiceprint)

 

Sometime ago, (because of Fusenet) I got involved in an e.mail discussion with Steve Smith about the nature of jazz rock fusion. Somewhere in the exchange of correspondence, I sought to test some interpretation of jazz rock, by asking Steve how King Crimson fitted into the scheme of thing. A 'non-starter/art rock' was the response. Subsequently, a few examples of the band’s music have appeared that might modify Steve’s opinion. For instance, ‘King Crimson at Summit Studios Denver 1972’, on a King Crimson’s Collectors Club issue, found the quartet jamming extensively to a Pharaoh Saunders’ tune “The Creator Has A Master Plan”, perhaps more than anything else reiterating Mel Collins’ jazz credentials, heard earlier with Circus. And to some, the Krimson improvs could be heard as free jazz as opposed to free rock.

 

More recently, Hiromi with her first album ‘Another Mind’ was greeted by a number of critics as being a very exciting new jazz pianist, but owing something to King Crimson. Then last year Theo Travis made a very successful (pseudo-modern jazz) cover of “21^st Century Schizoid Man” on ‘Earth To Either’ (33 Records), to my ears using an rearrangement that reinforced my thought that the Dave Brubeck Quartet should be considered an influence of early prog rock.

 

Now former Krimson drummer Ian Wallace has pulled together a trio in a classic jazz line up of drums, fretless electric (Tim Landers) and acoustic piano (Jody Nardone), to give a full album of classic Krimson as rearrangements/reinterpretations:

 

http://www.crimsonjazztrio.com/

 

The track listing:

21^st Century Schizoid Man/Three Of A Perfect Pair/Catfood/Starless/Ladies Of The Road/I Talk To The Wind/Red/Matte Kadasai

 

clearly show the album is not sticking to the early 70’s (Wallace) period of King. However, where Travis had change “21^st Century” to quite extent, Wallace and Co. go much further. In some instances, you are left guessing before the main recognisable theme of a tune appears minutes into a piece. The heaviness of the original is replaced by lightness and greater abstraction in the CJT’s versions, for instance “Catfood”, but without loosing the essence of original. And the musicians are in very good form. (And to show my innocence in this area of jazz), while I hear a jazz trio in the style of the 60’s or 70’s greats (as opposed to Hiromi or Keith Jarrett), I’m not sure if the trio take after Oscar Peterson (perhaps a lighter touch here), or Errol Gardner or Bill Evans. Jody Nardone takes these Krimson tunes, and with his deft piano playing and arrangement/improv, demonstrates they have considerable mileage as jazz standards. Wallace swings like I haven’t heard before, while Lander’s bass both works well as half of the rhythm section and providing enjoyable lead lines as needed.

 

I have to thanks Krimson biographer Sid Smith for introducing me to the album – and like Sid has stated,  this is an album that has had a lot of play time recently. Most strongly recommended to Krim fans, and jazz fans alike, when it is released.