Trio of Bloom

As Butch Cassidy once asked the Sundance Kid, "Who are those guys?"

Craig Taborn just might be the most underrated keyboard artist of his generation, being equally adept on acoustic piano (dig his albums Avenging Angel and Chants) and its electronic variants (check out his Junk Magic project). While he's constantly in demand as a side musician, Taborn has made fewer recordings as a leader or co-leader than any other pianist of comparable stature, which makes outings like this one Events. Nels Cline has been earning a payday with marquee alt-rockers Wilco for a couple of decades now, which enables him to take on the projects he wants, ranging from experimental improv to jazz traditionalism; my faves in his catalog include Coward and Lovers. Marcus Gilmore is a masterfully grooving and swinging drummer, proudly carrying on the heritage of his grandfather, Roy Haynes, in his work with Vijay Iyer and Patricia Brennan, among others. 

Together, they are the Trio of Bloom, whose self-titled debut drops on September 26 -- a band name that refers to the Trio of Doom, a one-off 1979 collaboration between John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, and Jaco Pastorius. It's a fitting moniker for a group that exemplifies and expands on all that was best about fusion jazz before it became fodder for the marketplace and the academy. For someone like your humble chronicler o' events, who teethed on the taut tension-release of early fusion (before the genre deteriorated into showy chops-mongering and list-of-names-on-the-jacket marketing), the compositional acumen of Weather Report, and the ethereal lyricism of '70s ECM Records, this album hits like a candygram from the gods. 

Trio of Bloom kicks off with a blazing cover of "Nightwhistlers," a Ronald Shannon Jackson composition from Eye On You, the 1981 debut from Shannon's Decoding Society. Between them, Taborn and Cline marshal an impressive array of electronic textures, with Taborn conjuring the spirit of Bitches Brew-era Chick Corea, while Cline delves deep into his Mahavishnu/John Abercrombie bag. Taborn's "Unreal Light" was the second single release from the album. It starts with a kind of celestial invocation before Taborn introduces an Afrobeat syncopation, then Cline and the composer overlay contrasting ostinatos which serve as a springboard for their solo statements and the lovely melodic theme. At this point, Cline's signature sound world is as distinctive as Hendrix's, and it's always a delight to hear him employ it in service of another creative composer's vision.

The lushly lyrical "Breath" sets the stage for Cline's "Queen King," the album's first single and a tasty slice of fusion funk featuring a NOLA groove and the composer on both bass and electric 12-string -- providing a sterling example of why album producer David Breskin is so fond of Cline's work on the latter instrument (in this case borrowed from Brandon Seabrook), including an epically unhinged solo. Taborn's deft attack on electronic keys is a highlight of this track -- sort of a bridge between organ trio funk (for what was the original Lifetime but an organ trio?) and Chick at his most cosmic. 

A dreamlike foray into Wayne Shorter's "Diana" (from his 1975 Brazilian excursion Native Dancer) follows, leading into the hypnotic electronica of "Bloomers," undergirded by a galloping hi-hat-and-snare groove from Gilmore. "Eye Shadow Eye" begins with a ruminative acoustic piano interlude from Taborn before Cline introduces the Jobim-esque melody over organ chords. Both men take languid solos before the scene changes to a Bitches Brew-inspired groove, propelled by Gilmore's loose-limbed funk. An album high spot.

"Why Canada" opens with frenetic drumming, over which the tonal instruments interject stabbing chords and dissonant lines. "Forge" works off a moody, Mahavishnu-esque chord progression, with Gilmore steadily building the tension as it goes. From there, the trio segues seamlessly into a "Sssh/Peaceful"-esque take on Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal's "Bend It." Then the succinct "Gone Bust" ends it. Heading into the home stretch of 2025, I'll go out on a limb and say you won't hear a better record than Trio of Bloom this year. So there.