The Andrew Lamb Trio Performs "New Orleans Suite"

From Engine Records (019) comes New Orleans Suite by the Andrew Lamb Trio. We are talking about Warren Smith on drums and recitation, Tom Abbs, bass, and Andrew Lamb working the tenor, flute. clarinet and harmonica.

There is a long narrative in the first part of the recording where Warren Smith expresses sardonic outrage at the handling of the Katrina event. I still feel that sense of outrage myself and so I cannot say I did not respond to the words.

The rest of the program centers on some fine free oriented improvisation from the potent trio. There are times where the direction reminds a little of AACM/Art Ensemble excursions of the looser sort, with Warren Smith taking a major role in producing the little sounds, but all joining in from time to time. This is not music of a technical tour de force sort. It is an expression of heartfelt anguish at the Katrina disaster and ultimately love, affection and hope for NOLA and its rebirth.

Yuganaut Return with Second Release

The three-man cooperative Yuganaut returns this month with a second offering, Sharks (Engine). As with This Musicianship (Esp, 2008), Yuganaut provides a musically choreographed soundtrack to a three-way free exploration.

Stephen Rush, Tom Abbs and Geoff Mann play a variety of instruments to create episodic, thoughtfully contrived musical events that hang together in a new-music-meets-free-improvisation sort of hybrid. It's not a particularly aggressive sound that they construct. The music does not have a bursting-with-energy denseness that characterizes much work by others in this genre. Rather they use the air of no-sound to contrast with the particular sets of timbres and textures being evoked at any given point. It is this sort of framing that sets the music apart, like many of Tom Abbs' fine earlier efforts under his own name.

Yuganaut plays trio music with narrative thrust. It is winningly crafted. You can get it as a download or a CD at ESP Disk's website, among other outlets.