Search - Paul Motian :: 2000 + One

Back when Stefan Winter ran the JMT label, drummer Paul Motian was always into something, excelling particularly in his strange-shaped trio with tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell. Here's Motian again, this time on Winter's stunning Winter & Winter records, with their bookbinding-styled gatefold sleeves and lovely attention to visual detail. His trio's changed shape, too, expanding into a quintet for much of this session. Motian's set up a rhythmic camp that'd make Ornette Coleman proud. There's Steve Swallow on electric bass and Larry Grenadier on acoustic bass, with Chris Potter on tenor sax. And then there's pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, who gives these slow-moving tunes a sense of urgency with his grunting and groaning--and a visceral execution that warrants the hubbub. Potter's tenor sounds delightful getting bounced between the differently thumpy basses, and he uses all the open space well with stair-climbs and jumping runs aplenty. --Andrew Bartlett