Shiroishi, Prymek, Nguyen - Eventually the River Rises Here Too, Same as it Always Has

Released: April 5 

One day in an unassuming radio station studio, three musicians with varying interests created an album in a single session during an experimental music festival. This is the recording of that album presented to us through the wonderful Ramble Records. What is really stunning about this work is that it is not clear that three had ever played together before - by all accounts this seems to be very first time they had even met. Regardless of this unfamiliarity, the cohesion with which the trio plays is incredible as they seem to know perfectly when they are to play and when they are to take a step back. In this unexpected three piece band, the drums provided by Thom Nyguen play the role of adding a certain amount of texture to the free-form composition, rather than trying to impose any sort of rhythm of stability. He joins in with guitarist Chaz Prymek and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi to create two long and winding compositions that wander into the territories of drone and noise while firmly keeping themselves within the realm of jazz. 

The first of these two pieces is by far the more peaceful sounding one. Even with the wild improvisation, it remains seemingly light and airy with more than a heaping of swing to the playing styles of each player. The saxophone is long-winded with long-held notes following superb scale runs and the guitar plays broken jazz chords with a certain playfulness. But coming to the second piece, the mood shifts completely. Gone is the fun and seemingly carefree feeling and it is replaced by a much darker and morose tone. The guitar is no longer playing energetically, instead it is now under a layer of distortion and a tad bit of crunch. The saxophone is much lower, playing out mournful notes and the drums clatter along except with a more muted tone. It's rather neat to go back and forth between the two tracks, as the feel like they are miles away from one another but also fit together quite well. It is even more neat, though, to think about how this entire project came together some well in what was likely and early afternoon jam.