Tomas Fujiwara: Pith
Out Of Your Head Records

Tomas Fujiwara's second 7 Poets Trio release offers a fascinating reimagining of the jazz trio format. The instrumentation, first off, is unconventional, with the drummer joined by cellist Tomeka Reid and vibraphonist Patrician Brennan. While there's no shortage of Reid's terrific bowing, she often sets its aside to pluck basslines, a move that by default positions Brennan as the lead soloist and main carrier of melody. But things are not quite so simple in a trio as fluid as this one, and consequently we see each of the three shifting confidently between lead and support roles, Reid delivering a theme in one moment and harmonic support in another, Fujiwara alternating between animating a performance and soloing, and Brennan likewise providing harmonic backup when not sparkling at the forefront.

The rapport between the three declared itself when the drummer recruited the two for a residency gig at The Stone in April 2018, Fujiwara having earlier played with Brennan in Michael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus and with Reid in her Quartet. But whereas he had established playing relationships with both, Brennan and Reid had never performed together before, and the exciting outcome of that first set ensured it wouldn't be a one-off, and sure enough the trio's eponymous debut arrived in 2019. As Fujiwara methodically composed five of the new album's six pieces (as it should be, the furious, free-wheeling “Other” is credited to all three), he also built in ample space for improvisation. If the performances sound fresh, they're literally so, the material having been recorded just five months ago at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut. As much as the playing is jazz, there's a chamber dimension in play insofar as intricate counterpoint is part of the trio's natural stock-in-trade.

As a drummer, Fujiwara's touch is lighter than some, and the attack gives his playing a buoyancy, looseness, and momentum that works well for this outfit. Their playing falls into that “Always soloing, never soloing” category when all members generate a constant level of spontaneous invention and the music's characterized by conversational flow. His pointillistic attack partners effectively with Reid when her cello-generated lines are similarly lighter than they would be if played by a double bassist. The impression created is of seasoned musicians striding gracefully through the drummer's charts, like a schooner slicing through bay water.

Representative of Fujiwara's writing style, “Solace” interlaces spidery patterns by the vibraphonist and cellist while the leader punctuates their lines with the ornamental pitter-patter of ever-changing commentary. The music slips and slides, entrancingly so, as the playing of each participant commands attention. Brennan inhabits the forefront first, but Reid steps forth with a muscular solo that in turn gets absorbed by the whole. As ear-catching is “Swelter” for the pulsating drive of its throb and the hypnotic dazzle of gleaming vibes cascades. Fujiwara isn't averse to letting a breakdown work itself into the middle of a performance, which happens here before order reasserts itself. Located in a different zone altogether, the cryptic tone painting “Resolve” broods portentously, coupling as it does contemplative vibes figures with cello-generated drones and bowed cymbals. “Josho” flirts with classic trio jazz in the relaxed swing of the leader and Reid's walking pulse; even here, however, Fujiwara flouts convention by blurring the lines between lead soloist and rhythm support.

September 2023