Joe Lovano, Trio Tapestry, Marilyn Crispell, Carmen Castaldi

The debut album of Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry was one of 2019’s most talked-about releases. The trio’s musical concept – the Boston Globe spoke of “utterances of hushed assurance, lyricism and suspense” –  is taken to the next level on its second album, Garden of Expression, a recording distinguished by its intense focus.  Lovano, a saxophonist whose reach extends across the history of modern jazz and beyond, plays with exceptional sensitivity in Trio Tapestry.  And the music he writes for this group –  tenderly melodic or declamatory, harmonically open, rhythmically free, and spiritually involving –  encourages subtle and differentiated responses from his creative partners. Joe describes their interaction as “magical”.   

Carmen Castaldi’s space-conscious approach to drumming further refines an improvisational understanding that he and Lovano have shared since the 1970s. The trio is also a wonderful context for Marilyn Crispell’s solos, counter melodies, and improvisational embellishments, and her feeling for sound-colour helps the chamber music character of the group to flower. The details of the music are beautifully realized in this recording made in the highly responsive acoustics of the  Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.