This Is Book's Music

What are the Variations (Naim Jazz) Trichotomy speak of, and how does one get involved? My interests in jazz go everywhere, sometimes when I fear the smooth jazz or vocal jazz pool I tiptoe and make a facial expression as if I’m Lemmy Kilmeister, but most of the time I’m open like a Britney Spears leg pit and taking in whatever comes in. In other words, I love it when a group gets busy, and I don’t mean “let’s get down to business”, I mean that it sounds as if it’s organized cacophony and I’m digging every moment.

Variations is an album that makes me want to kiss it from the toes up. Pay Marchisella (acoustic bass), John Parker (drums), and Sean Foran (piano) create a mood for each song immediately, or at least they play that way in order to make the listener think that’s the mood, but then take it somewhere else about midway through. “At The Right Moment” is an appropriate title, for imagine it to be a woman who is excited in all the right places, and you’re trying to make her know her sensitive spots and she’s hoping you’ll touch the ones she knows and you don’t. One can imagine a winter chill or a spring moment, as the light from the sky touches on the e ku’u morning dew and makes its presence known with equality towards the piano, drums, and bass. It’s a family affair, and Trichotomy are holding hands before breakfast.

“Branching Out” sounds busy again, this time like a news room during crunch time, where it feels as if everyone is on their own vibe, own time, but they’re all doing it for a common cause. Marchisella’s finger duties are so intense, I don’t know how he maintains but he does before cooling down, all while Foran plays his melody and Parker locks and interlocks with all of them. “Variations On A Bad Day” could be a song that might reach some dark places, but instead we’re hearing the optimistic values of what might be a bad day, and instead they dance around it in the hopes the day isn’t a complete failure, complete with some incredibly funky playing before it gets into a Latin groove. It’s as if the song has about 8 to 10 different movements, and you’re ready to experience each and every one. “Chunk” is where Marchisella runs his bass through what sounds like a distortion metal, and the groove is nasty, and yet you love it despite its disturbing felts and crusty yellow teeth. Put yourself in a haunted house, but also put your favorite jazz group in it to recreate each and every scary moment. That’s “Chunk”.

Variations is varied without a doubt, and with each song you have its own set of variations, as the group travel from each musical destination and embraces every avenue but leaving things open so that if they feel like it, they can return to it in the future. May their future bring them riches forever.