Dallas, 3.1.2025

 

After seeing Denton rockers Smothered playing one of my favorite records of this young year (their newie Dirty Laundry) front-to-back at Rubber Gloves a couple of weeks ago, my buddy Mike and I trekked over to one of our favorite Dallas listening rooms, the Cedars' Full City Rooster, to hear my favorite band of the moment, Trio Glossia, play the release show for their stunning self-titled debut, which dropped on Sonic Transmissions February 7, more or less in album order (they switched the order of "Shedding Tongues" and first single "Nerdy Dirty Talk" on the fly for maximum impact).

We've been following Trio Glossia since their second show, at Molten Plains Fest in December 2023, and it's been a pleasure watching their compositions and interaction develop and evolve in performance. Every new viewing brings a deeper, more refined level of communication between the musicians, enabling them to take the music to new places that surprise even them in the moment, bringing their listeners greater catharsis. 

So there was a surprisingly comedic element to Joshua Canate's performance during "Cikatiedid," when he turned over his snare drum and dumped his sticks and percussion implements over it (one is reminded of stories of the early Bob Dylan and his comical onstage awkwardness), and when he later complained of audience members throwing sticks at him ("You started it," said leader-vibraphonist-drummer Stefan Gonzalez). Or when Canate introduced the set closer "All Blowed Out" (a digital-only afterthought to the album) by saying "We're almost out of free jazz hell" (earlier, Gonzalez had noted the dual titular significance of Canate's composition "For a Fee" -- both a tribute to New York improv eminence Joe McPhee and notice that "we don't play free jazz"). At one point during the aforementioned "Cikatiedid," the two percussionists shared Gonzalez's vibraphone, sounding at times like the two hands of a piano player.

Gonzalez brought even more of his trademark intensity to the table than usual. We'd last seen him in a percussion trio at last month's Joan of Bark Presents show at Rubber Gloves, where he seemed, if not subdued, at least more intentionally spare and light than we're used to hearing him. At Full City, he brought tremendous physicality and force to his performances both on vibes -- the Oak Cliff hard bop of "Ode to Swamp Thing," the '60s Blue Note impressionism of "Dream Travelers" (dedicated to his father, the late polymath Dennis Gonzalez), and the album climaxing tour de force "Shedding Tongues" -- and behind the trap set. On "For A Fee," the sheer brutality of the leader's Elvin Jones groove threatened to overpower Canate's full-throated, multiphonic-rich '60s energy music tenor. And the vibe seemed contagious, with Canate slamming the skins harder than his usual propulsive glide. 

The anchor of this active three-way conversation is bassist Matthew Frerck, a consummate virtuoso, master of pizzicato and arco attacks, fast walks and "outside" explorations, extended techniques and solid swing. Frerck also excels as a composer, having provided two of the album's highlights: album and set opener "Arcane's Dance" and a particular favorite of mine, the Henry Threadgill-inspired second single "Zoomorphology" with its insane stops and starts. 

Trio Glossia will be at The Wild Detectives on March 22, augmented by guitarist extraordinaire Gregg Prickett (who will also appear with his own trio in Fort Worth at the Grackle Art Gallery on March 8). They'll be on a bill topped by esteemed punk rock elder Mike Watt in the ensemble MSSV, with Austin ensemble THC Trio added to sweeten the pot. Don't you dare miss it.