The three men involved in this startling, contemplative, and utterly brave recording are not strangers to unknown musical situations, and
Breaking the Shell
is one. The album was commissioned by
Red Hook Records
label boss and producer
Sun Chung
, who had worked with all three men before --
Bill Frisell
and
Andrew Cyrille
have collaborated on four albums for the label, while
Kit Downes
released
Medna Roso
, backing the Balkan women's choir
PJEV
. Over two days in May 2022, the trio gathered at St. Luke in the Fields in New York City's Greenwich Village.
Downes
played its pipe organ for this date that marks the first time in jazz that guitar, pipe organ, and drums have appeared together in trio.
offers 11 improvisations based on sketches from each musician and traditional sources. Each amorphous tune segues into and out of the next; changes are subtle, and they quietly evolve alongside motifs and themes that emerge and then suddenly vanish. These players are consummate listeners and generous collaborators.
Opener "May 4th" is initiated by upper- and middle-register drones and overtones from
.
Frisell
enters harmonizing with them, as
Cyrille
's brushed snares and hi-hat fills offer a breathing foundation. This segues into "Untitled 23," framed by
's sparse scalar inquiries and sonic and tonal shifts embraced by
adds ballast and atmosphere. "Kasei Valles" is an eerie exercise in music-making.
' noirish drones and pedal flutters meet
's distorted, bent single-string fills and accents as
sparsely underscores them both until the organist and guitarist wind around one another in a dramatic droning collision of dread.
' "El" is an abstract jazz ballad with glorious textural interplay between drummer, guitarist, and guest cellist
Lucy Railton
hovers and floats, bringing them both under his sonic umbrella. A bit later,
leads the trio in taking on the Norwegian folk song "Sjung Hjerte Sjung," allowing its melody to emerge in slowly articulated lines that are completed by broken snare backbeats before
shifts gears into a loose jam that sounds like a lost outtake from
the Doors
. Contrast this with the tender, introspective "July 2nd" as guitar and organ melodically trade fours.
has understood for more than six decades that drums don't have to keep time. Here, his cymbal and hi-hat work maintain an elegant feel in framing the guitarist's glorious tremolo articulations. "Cypher" has
delivering gently mysterious sound waves before disappearing into
's ballad "Proximity," with arresting interactive tones from
without any rhythmic interference. The album closes with a wonderfully subtle, abstracted reading of the Hungarian folk song "Este a Székelyeknél."
is a demanding yet seductive listen, and full of musical ideas. Furthermore, for an improvised recording that lives and breathes in the abstract and ambient, it is wonderfully accessible and provides solid evidence of a remarkable encounter between three masters. ~ Thom Jurek