Jobic Le Masson, piano, Didier Lassarre, drums, and Benjamin Duboc, bass, collectively form the Free Unfold Trio. Their second album, Ballades (Ayler) is a half-hour of quite subtle, quite free and quite intriguing music. Like some of Paul Bley's excellent trio work of the mid-to-late '60s, they are out to realize a reflective mood, to react as a three-voiced musical being to their muse.
And they do so with much charm and much to hear within the short time span allotted. Understandably, pianist Le Masson has the most prominent voice in the proceedings, but Lasserre and Duboc bring all their interpretive powers into play.
Ballades may even out-do Bley for a laconic, inner-directedness. And of course the classic Bill Evans trios come to mind, but only as a reference. This trio is even more restrained than Bill's in their most impressionistic phase. That is saying something. Most importantly they do what they do not for effect. The music is a genuine expression of where they are at the moment. So it seems to me.
If you like the darker shades of the piano trio in a ballad mode, this will certainly bring you much pleasure. It did for me.
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