TRIO RYPDAL VITOUS GURTU LIVE IN STUTTGART

Being such a big fan of Terje Rypdal for many years, it was a pleasant surprise to find a live DVD performance. I've never been fortunate enough to see him perform live in person. This is a simple trio performance, but the performance is nothing but simple. For that matter, I haven't seen any of the other two in person yet. Rypdal, Vitous, and Gurtu aren't really a conventional band, but rather three guys getting together and doing some really good structured jamming.

One of my favorite parts is Trilok's percussion solo. This guy is not only a masterpiece on his drum kit, but has a lot of nice percussion toys to bring to the party. And you better believe he knows how to use them. I know of Miroslav, from his days in the early Weather Report. The guy plays acoustic bass like it he was born with it stuck to him. Rypdal's one of those guitarists whose style is much like a lot of the classic progressive guitarist's have. He can rise be heavy at moments and then fly off into really beautiful mellow sounds.

Trio Live in Stuttgart is an excellent, maybe one of a time-captured performance, which is not to be missed.