Brooklyn Queens Expressway Trio

Pit Inn March 6, 2009

Danny Grissett - piano
Vicente Archer - bass
Marcus Gilmore – drums
with Tomonao Hara – trumpet

Following his superb backing of Tom Harrell’s Tokyo shows late last year, pianist Danny Grissett finally made it back to Japan with his own trio. With the stellar backing of Vicente Archer on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, together with trumpeter Tomonao Hara sitting in on two songs each set, the evening was an elegant display of swinging, reflective contemporary jazz. With only two recordings, Grissett is already on his way to establishing himself as one of the very best new jazz pianists around.

The evening started off with a tune from his first trio release, “On the Edge.” The trio found a tempo that blended New York bop-fast with west coast laid-back, nicely reflecting his roots in Los Angeles and his home now in New York. The tempo was just right for the ongoing exchanges and vivid statements the three made the whole evening. Even when tunes like “Waltz For Billy” from his second release, slowed the pace a bit, it just upped the energy.  After each song, I wondered, “Man, are they going to take it on up even further from here?” They did, of course, going back and forth between Grissett’s originals and tunes from Wayne Shorter and Cedar Walton.

The second set started out with another of Grissett’s originals, though they sound like standards already, “The New Beginning” off last year’s release, “Encounters.” Following up with a tribute to the late Freddie Hubbard, “Up Jumped Spring,” the trio really dug down into extended solos. Rather than just blasting through each one, though, as they obviously could have done, they took time on both these numbers for delicate, understated themes and feelings. They not only carefully improvised melody lines, but also carefully played individual notes. That attention to each note, as if each one was considered in and of itself, made each solo rounded, individual and complete.

Trumpeter Hara stepped out for two more numbers on the second set, kicking into a more laid back groove. His textured, tonal trumpeting fit impeccably into the trio’s sound. The back and forth soloing was a genuine exchange, without the flashy flourishes and bold over-playing that often mars other young players meeting fresh on stage. They held a conversation of equals, with musical ideas the focus rather than their own chops. They have no shortage of technique. Archer, who played on Grissett’s first two recordings, and Gilmore, a dynamite drummer, were strikingly inventive, but rather than trying to impress, the solos started with smooth transitions, keeping the music pouring out in an all-embracing, seamless flow.

What Grissett, Archer and Gilmore did so well, really, was to let everyone into their most interior, intimate musical spaces. The unhurried fluidity and unending invention remained intimate and human, as if they wanted to unassumingly inject a new feeling into jazz, one that brings together past and present jazz, the jazz scene abroad and each evening’s crowd, musicians and audience, all rolled into an exquisite, heartfelt whole. The pleasure of all this was not lost on the packed-in audience, who asked for, and got, a great, final encore.