Carla Bley’s trio of piano, sax and bass guitar fits her agile, gently melancholic and slightly self-mocking idiom to a T. She’s so confident in her own composing powers she can make a blatant nod towards Rael’s ‘Bolero’ in ‘Vashkar’, and Monk’s pungent seventh chords in ‘Les Trios Lagons’, knowing these will be subsumed into something entirely personal. ‘The Girl Who Cried Champagne’ also shows a nice line in surprise endings. An endearing blend of sophistication and whimsy.
Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph
Was für Melodien! Welche Transparenz! Brüchig, spröde und doch federleicht wirkt Carla Bleys Klavierspiel, und beschwingt tanzen die Melodien aus Andy Sheppards Tenor- oder Sopransax. Steve Swallows obertonreicher Elektrobass umturtelt dieses Geschehen […] ein Opus voll unerwarteter Wendungen, mit tiefer innerer Harmonie und der für das annähernd gesamte Werk Bleys typischen Melancholie. Wie diese drei in der klanglich perfekten Produktion miteinander kommunizieren, wie sie Räume öffnen und schließen, zählt zum Feinsten im komponierten Jazz der letzten Jahre.
Werner Stiefele, Stereoplay
This record, her first for ECM, is a retrospective take on pieces written for different formats re-imagined for her trio of 20 years standing. With producer Manfred Eicher at the studio controls, it’s a match made in chamber jazz heaven. Eicher chose the tunes and his influence is there from the opener ‘Utviklingssang’.
Gary Booth, BBC Music Magazine
Surely the trio’s empathy and depth of expression has never been better captured. With Bley’s beautifully clear-minded compositions and undimmed pianism, Swallow’s effortless shifts from accompanist to melodist, and Sheppard’s saxophone as communicative as a human voice, this is flawless music.
Steve Harris, Hi-Fi News
Bley can be an engaging soloist whether she is on acoustic piano or organ. And an album as intimate as ‘Trios’, thankfully, lends itself to a lot of soloing on Bley’s part. She doesn’t play any organ on this album, sticking to the acoustic piano instead. And she is compelling on that instrument, taking a very introspective approach on these songs from the past. Bley hasn’t lost anything along the way. And on ‘Trios’, it is evident that she is still very much on top of her game.
Alex Henderson, Jazz Inside Magazine
Giving herself fully to the direction of producer Manfred Eicher for – somewhat unbelievably – her ECM debut as a leader, Bley repurposes some works for trio, while others are heard in unusual context. Regardless of the approach, the result allows light to illuminate unfamilar curves and crevices in these well-worn pieces.
James Hale, Downbeat
La belleza che sperimenta [...] Andy Sheppard sempre pronto a far da perno melodico all’oscillare ritmico e armonico di pianoforte e basso. I un progressivo gioco a levare, ritocccare, lisciare, il trio affronta e rimodella come creta vergine composizioni scritte es registrate dalla pianista in epoche diverse.
(Experimenting Beauty [...] The ever-present Andy Sheppard adds melodic support to the rhythmic and harmonic fluctuations of piano and bass. Progressively removing, adjusting, and smoothening elements, the trio tackles and reshapes the material of the pianist's compositions from various periods, as if it were fresh clay. )
Paolo Odello, L’unità
‘Trios’ adheres to Bley’s vision in that the ideals frame the structures, offering opportunities for her ongtime collaborators, particularly tenor and soprano saxophonist Andy Sheppard, to shine. Bley’s plaing is beautifully evocative, and her interaction with bassist Steve swallow is effortless almost to the point of translucence. [...] The spiritual awareness that underlies much of Bley’s craft is always at hand as the trio explores these strange, haunting melodies with quiet awe.
John Swenson, Stereophile