Steve Davis: Explorations and Impressions

For reference one can compare this trio date (Davis, drums; Richie Beirach, piano; Francois Moutin, bass) to items by Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock. The trio uses tunes such as “Blue in Green,” “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise,” “Nardis,” “Stella by Starlight” and Beirach’s “Elm” to hang its free-spirited conversations and improvisations on. Tempos, moods, grooves and ensemble approaches are likely to change within any single performance-who knows? But far from desultory, each performance hangs together through shared abstraction, sensitivity and flow.

Originally Published November 1, 1997