Book of Three - Continuum CD

Given the stature within improvised music circles of Taylor Ho Bynum (trumpet), John Hébert (bass) and Gerald Cleaver (drums), any new release by these guys should be greeted with great interest because more times than not, that new release ends up being widely lauded. Somehow, all three made a record that dropped last month that escaped wide notice.

Continuum (2012) is actually the second album by this stealth supergroup called Book of Three, and their stealthy ways extend to the way they play their music. It’s very much in the ballpark of group improv out of the New York Downtown scene, but eschews the usual out-jazz fare of soloists plowing forward and counting on the rest of the band to catch up. In its place is a listening party: three musicians who are far more reactive, with each tirelessly tuned in to what the other two are doing.

Group improvisation doesn’t have to get rowdy, and it’s usually during those quieter moments when a listener can get inside the minds of the musicians. On the barren landscape of Continuum (2012), much is revealed of the things that make all three among the current elite. –S. Victor Aaron