Bob Gluck Trio: Returning

Pianist Bob Gluck, a one-time rabbi, has found a perfect balance between formal composition and free jazz with his intuitive rhythm tandem of bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Dean Sharp. His spiky explorations on the opening “Lifeline,” for instance, are bookended by a distinctly meditative ostinato theme. The title cut swings in fairly conventional, if angular, fashion before opening up to a middle section full of Gluck’s virtuosic runs that may recall such avant-garde icons as Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley and Don Pullen. The tumultuous “Time” is marked by explosive free playing, while “By a Field” gradually develops from plaintive introspection to volatile extrapolation. Bisio, showcased with virtuosic arco work on “That’s All You Got?,” also delivers humongous bass tones on the playfully Monkish “There’s No There There.” The collection closes with a whisper with the sparse improv piece “Something Quiet.”