Search - Michael Moore :: Monitor (Dig)

One hallmark of Jimmy Giuffre's 1960s-era drummerless trio was the listener's inability to differentiate improvised and composed music the band played. American expat saxophonist and clarinetist Michael Moore has been mining at least some of Giuffre's approaches to tone--perhaps unwittingly--for years in his adopted hometown, Amsterdam. Here, he takes a page from the Giuffre trio's book, with a particularly Amsterdam-centric spin. In other words, cellist Tristan Honsinger and pianist Cor Fuhler love to play dittylike melodies (try the folky "Budnike," for one) and then dance around them playfully with shades of dissonance coming from each trio member and some truly unusual sound originating from Fuhler's invented "keyolin"--an inverted, two-string viola connected to a small keyboard. Moore favors long, patient tones and a sometimes tart sound to match Honsinger's here sawing, there rhapsodizing command of the cello. These are pieces that will reward close listening--especially from those who've found Giuffre's trio music captivating. --Andrew Bartlett