Trio 3: Lake-Workman-Cyrille Live in Willisau

This is a cooperative endeavor in every sense of the term. Each of these consummate professionals is completely supportive of his trio mates and the sense of shared music is right up front. In a trio setting such as this, lacking contributions from a chording instrument like piano or guitar, there is a great burden on the drummer to keep the sonic landscape fresh. There are few more thoroughly musical drummers than Andrew Cyrille. An ultimate colorist, one need hear no further than his tempered cymbal break on the extended work called “Shell.”

Though Oliver Lake, who sticks to his alto sax for this date, is the melodic instrument nominally out front of the trio, there is no one true leader and the sense of shared exploration permeates this disc. The piece “Nov 1” is for the most part a fascinating and magnetic example of how bass and drums sans sax achieve dialogue that remains interesting.

Originally Published May 1, 1998