Kris Davis, Nick Fraser, Tony Malaby

Recording in Toronto, the core trio of drummer Nick Fraser, saxophonist Tony Malaby and pianist Kris Davis are joined on four tracks by tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trumpeter Lina Allemano, in an album of composed and collective improvisation, merging Toronto, NY and European influences in an accomplished album of diverse approaches and orchestrations. Fraser has a great sense of cyclical energy here – a way of playing freely, but elliptically – so that there's this sense of passage and phase in some of the music, even while all the members are improvising with great intensity! Malaby blows with an angular energy that strikes a great balance between the piano and drums. Titles include Zoning, Wells Tower, Sketch 46, Coda, Charismatics, and Events.