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On his ECM debut as a leader and his first studio album in six years, tenor saxophone titan Joe Lovano lays out a fertile 12-tone improvisational soundscape for him, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Carmen Castaldi to mystically create colorful sonic tapestries of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Known for his brawny command of the tenor in his three-and-a half-decade recording career that includes two dozen albums for the Blue Note label, Lovano displays an expressive beauty and sensitive lyricism on Trio Tapestry, and the result, as he put it, is “some of the most intimate and personal music I’ve recorded so far.” Producer and engineer Manfred Eicher meticulously captures the subtlety of the trio’s nuanced interplay on tracks like the introspective “One Time In,” the soulful “Sparkle Lights,” and the journey-like “Mystic,” which features Lovano on Hungarian tárogató. While Lovano’s playing is mostly marked by a serene passion, occasional hard-blowing passages reminiscent of Saxophone Summit pop up, as on the finale, “The Smiling Dog.” The leader’s multi-tracked gongs on “Gong Episode” offer a change of pace while retaining the reflective mood that characterizes Trio Tapestry.
By Dan Ouelette
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