Gary Peacock Trio review: Jazz masters move through the gears

Tangents
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Artist: Gary Peacock Trio
Genre: Jazz
Label: ECM

Bassist Gary Peacock may be best known for playing standards with the world-beating Keith Jarrett trio, but the venerable bassist's roots stretch all the way back to the 1960s avant garde, and he brings those two sides beautifully together on this in-and-out trio date with his long-time collaborators, pianist Marc Copland and drummer Joey Baron.

A set of mostly Peacock compositions – with Alex North's love theme from Spartacus and Miles Davis's classic Blue in Green thrown in for good measure – veers from ruminative abstraction to tender lyricism to joyous swing without losing the intense focus of three old hands, masters of their respective instruments, who have the courage and the humility to let the music decide where it wants to go.

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Cormac Larkin

Cormac Larkin

Cormac Larkin, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a musician, writer and director