Arc Trio

“….ON MARIO PAVONE’S ENGAGING NEW ALBUM , THE BASSIST POWERS THE TRIO THROUGH 8 ROUGH AND ROLLING PERFORMANCES “ “…THE EMPHASIS IS ON ENERGY AND PASSION “ BRAD FABERMAN (DOWNBEAT , DECEMBER 2013) “ … TERRIFIC PIANO TRIO RECORD “ “… STIMULATING AND INVENTIVE …. THREE MASTERS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INSTRUMENTS “ TROY DOSTERT ( www.freejazzblog.org ) Over the past 34 years I have recorded some 25 CD’s as a leader or co-leader, thirteen of those recordings on the Playscape label. To date all have been studio recordings, but for some time now I have wanted to record and release a live performance album. I had considered the drawbacks of live recording, such as reduced recording sound quality, the sound quality of a club piano versus a studio piano, audience chatter, and the risk inherent in the fact that there are no second takes. But on the positive side I knew that the music could have a more spontaneous quality, be “in the moment” and that playing off the energy of the audience could be exciting. In the end my decision centered on the fact that the live experience is at the heart of improvised music. In February 2013 an opportunity arose to perform at the Cornelia Street Café, a cozy, historical Greenwich Village venue and one of my favorite places to play. I immediately thought of doing a piano trio with Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver. During the last ten years Gerald and I played dozens of times together and had recorded three CD’s (Orange, Ancestors and Arc Suite, [Playscape Recordings] and Craig and I had played together two or three times previously as well. Given that they are two of the busiest musicians on the scene today, I wondered if it could happen. As it turned out the “scheduling Gods” were aligned and both were available. I was also able to engage the wonderful engineer Jon Rosenberg to record the performance. I brought some new compositions to the gig, as well as a few from my recent CD’s and several that I had written fourteen years ago. There was really no time to rehearse. So as they say, we just “hit it” on the bandstand. While listening to the tapes several days later, it was clear to me that my contribution to this recording was directly related to my near obsession and deep immersion in a handful of vinyl piano trio recordings in the mid to late 1960’s. First among these was a Steve Kuhn album called Three Waves with Steve Swallow on acoustic bass, and the late Pete LaRoca Sims on drums. Three tracks of note, for their sheer propulsive energy, were the Kuhn originals Today I am a Man and Bits and Pieces, as well as the title tune by the composer Sergio Mihanovich. Next up would be Paul Bley’s seminal release Floater, with, interestingly, the very same acoustic rhythm section. When Andrew Hill’s burning Smokestack was released with the unique lineup of two bassists Richard Davis, Eddie Kahn, and drummer Roy Haynes, it spun endlessly on my turntable. I also spent a great deal of time listening to Keith Jarrett’s Life Between the Exit Signs with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, Dick Twardzik’s trio work with Carson Smith on bass. Especially noteworthy are the tracks Crutch for the Crab and Albuquerque Social Swim, and finally an amazing duo recording Sight Song with Muhal Richard Abrams and Art Ensemble of Chicago bassist Malachi Favors. The challenges of leading a group from the bass chair are great, but Craig and Gerald are such powerful and flexible musicians that they delivered the intensive and propulsive sound that are such strong characteristics of the works cited above. Somehow it all became part of the three-way conversation taking place on the bandstand that evening. I dedicate this album to all of the artists mentioned above. —Mario Pavone, 4/20/13 “ … PAVONE’S BEEN A QUIET HERO OF EAST COAST JAZZ SINCE THE 70’S. ARC TRIO IS A LIVE RECORDING OF A PARTICULARLY STRONG SHOW WITH THIS NEW TRIO “ BEN RATLIFF (NEW YORK TIMES ) “ … WHEN LED BY THE BASSIST PAVONE , THE TRIO ALL BUT BURN DOWN THE CORNELIA STREET CAFÉ , WHERE THE SET WAS RECORDED LIVE “ BILL SHOEMAKER (www.pointofdeparture.org )