The moment I heard the pairing of Phil Haynes and Drew Gress in the roller-coaster free-bop quartet Joint Venture, I was hooked. Finding a sweet-spot between serious composition and uninhibited freedom, the largely forgotten group fundamentally altered my then young perspective on jazz.
That was back in the late 1980s, and since then the New York based drummer and composer has amassed a discography of over 80 recordings, many of which are released by his audiophile Corner Store Jazz label. This is his fourth collaboration with David Liebman, the third by this trio. Forming part of an ambitious three-year release schedule which will include an autobiography and a compilation of handpicked highlights from the last five decades, it comes at a time when 62-year-old Haynes is battling ill-health.
As the trio’s name suggests, this music is not about instant gratification. Slow cooked and rich in flavour, it is set apart from the humdrum by decades of collective experience. Twenty wonderfully nuanced pieces span short improvised solos and duos to fully fledged compositions, and everything flows just beautifully.
Liebman is mostly heard on soprano, and the spontaneous nature of the material creates a reminder of his affinities with Steve Lacy. The riotously freewheeling version of A Lil’ Iowa Getdown is worth the price of admission alone, and is a reminder of Haynes’ long association with the late Paul Smoker, who died in 2016. Some Slick Sick underscores Haynes’ remarkable chemistry with Gress, the drummer’s subtle but powerful brushwork animates a dedication to Lee Konitz, and the multiple perspectives on To Swing Or Not and Music Du Jour illustrate Haynes’ desire to continually reinvent.
As things stand this will be the trio’s final recording, and if that proves to be the case we can only be thankful for everything that they’ve achieved.
Discography
Gathering; The Universal E; DL Five; Beloved Refracted; To Swing Or Not (II); Where’s The Door; Some Sick Slick; Cycle; DL Two; Things Lee; The Universal A; DL Four; Alone; Music Du Jour Too; Jour Now; A Lil’ Iowa Get-Down; To Swing Or Not (I); Music Du Jour; DL One; Coda (69.21)
Haynes (d, pc) with David Liebman (ss, wood flute, pc); Drew Gress (b, pc). Brooklyn, 14-15 December 2022.
Corner Store Jazz CSJ 0136/0137
