PETER ERSKINE TRIO - As It Was
ECM 475 5832 Old & New Masters Series (4 CD Set)
You Never Know - recorded July 1992
Time Being - recorded November 1993
As It Is - recorded September 1995
Juni - recorded July 1997
John Taylor (piano); Palle Danielsson (double bass); Peter Erskine (drums)
The latest in ECM's Old & New Masters series brings together the four recordings made by the rather unique American-British-Swedish trio led by drummer Peter Erskine. Partly born out of Kenny Wheeler's quintet that recorded The Widow In The Window set for the label, Erskine found himself in the company of pianist John Taylor and Dave Holland on bass as the rhythm section for the album. As Holland was unable to make the subsequent tour, his place was taken by Palle Danielsson and the rapport established onstage led to the formation of the trio when Erskine was invited by Manfred Eicher to lead a session of his own. Whilst all were warmly received at the time of their release, this box set is now the perhaps the ideal time to re-evaluate the work of the trio nearly twenty years after their final recording, and after the untimely passing of John Taylor last year.
On paper the pairing of Taylor and Danielsson would not raise any eyebrows as both had previous form with the imprint, however Erskine's background had involved stints with the big bands of Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton and the fusion band Weather Report and the involvement with ECM had primarily been with American musicians as opposed to the more European aesthetic associated with the label (with the exception perhaps of the trio recording Star that featured the drummer with Jan Garbarek and Miroslav Vitous in 1991). It is perhaps therefore interesting to note that whilst the trio recorded under Erskine's leadership it was perhaps the drummer himself who made the largest concessions in stepping out of his comfort zone and adapting his own musical language, and in doing so helped define it's collective sound.
If at first glance it appeared that Taylor was going to lay claim to the direction the trio was to take, after all he contributed no less than fifteen of the thirty seven titles that were recorded, it is evident as one listens to these albums again that they perhaps occupy their own unique space terms of trio recordings and the sense of the journey of discovery and ultimately discontent that would herald the demise of the group.
The first two albums You Never Know and Time Being now stand as the most relaxed and even conventional of the four. The compositions remain fresh and interesting with the feeling that each member is finding and defining their role in the music. Piano and bass naturally enough find common ground but it's Erskine's willingness to lay himself bare, and strip down his playing to the bare essentials bringing a lyricism and delicacy to his playing that matches Taylor's touch at the piano.
By the time of the recording the third album, As It Is, a different emphasis and feel is starting to emerge. The ironed out melodies are now starting to be broken up and examined from a different perspective. With hindsight, in the recording of the fourth and final album, perhaps one can hear how the trio had run it's natural course and if on As It Is the trio were looking to redefine and expand their roles, then Juni would show a straining at the seams. The album still retains the trio voice, but with the more abstract nature of pieces such as 'The Ant & The Elk' and 'Twelve' by the drummer, and Palle Danelsson's 'Siri' a freer and more open approach to the music was being investigated, and contrasting sharply with the more reflective nature of Diane Taylor's tone poem 'Namasti' and the waltz time 'For Jan' by Wheeler that pointed in the opposite direction.
Despite the apparent difficulties and differences that may have arisen in the making of Juni, all four albums stand up as individual statements that are ultimately enjoyable, however it is when they are heard as a sequence of events in their entirety that the whole picture becomes clear and the position that this particular trio holds not just in the ECM catalogue, but also one of the truly innovative piano trios.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
ECM 475 5832 Old & New Masters Series (4 CD Set)
You Never Know - recorded July 1992
Time Being - recorded November 1993
As It Is - recorded September 1995
Juni - recorded July 1997
John Taylor (piano); Palle Danielsson (double bass); Peter Erskine (drums)
The latest in ECM's Old & New Masters series brings together the four recordings made by the rather unique American-British-Swedish trio led by drummer Peter Erskine. Partly born out of Kenny Wheeler's quintet that recorded The Widow In The Window set for the label, Erskine found himself in the company of pianist John Taylor and Dave Holland on bass as the rhythm section for the album. As Holland was unable to make the subsequent tour, his place was taken by Palle Danielsson and the rapport established onstage led to the formation of the trio when Erskine was invited by Manfred Eicher to lead a session of his own. Whilst all were warmly received at the time of their release, this box set is now the perhaps the ideal time to re-evaluate the work of the trio nearly twenty years after their final recording, and after the untimely passing of John Taylor last year.
On paper the pairing of Taylor and Danielsson would not raise any eyebrows as both had previous form with the imprint, however Erskine's background had involved stints with the big bands of Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton and the fusion band Weather Report and the involvement with ECM had primarily been with American musicians as opposed to the more European aesthetic associated with the label (with the exception perhaps of the trio recording Star that featured the drummer with Jan Garbarek and Miroslav Vitous in 1991). It is perhaps therefore interesting to note that whilst the trio recorded under Erskine's leadership it was perhaps the drummer himself who made the largest concessions in stepping out of his comfort zone and adapting his own musical language, and in doing so helped define it's collective sound.
If at first glance it appeared that Taylor was going to lay claim to the direction the trio was to take, after all he contributed no less than fifteen of the thirty seven titles that were recorded, it is evident as one listens to these albums again that they perhaps occupy their own unique space terms of trio recordings and the sense of the journey of discovery and ultimately discontent that would herald the demise of the group.
The first two albums You Never Know and Time Being now stand as the most relaxed and even conventional of the four. The compositions remain fresh and interesting with the feeling that each member is finding and defining their role in the music. Piano and bass naturally enough find common ground but it's Erskine's willingness to lay himself bare, and strip down his playing to the bare essentials bringing a lyricism and delicacy to his playing that matches Taylor's touch at the piano.
By the time of the recording the third album, As It Is, a different emphasis and feel is starting to emerge. The ironed out melodies are now starting to be broken up and examined from a different perspective. With hindsight, in the recording of the fourth and final album, perhaps one can hear how the trio had run it's natural course and if on As It Is the trio were looking to redefine and expand their roles, then Juni would show a straining at the seams. The album still retains the trio voice, but with the more abstract nature of pieces such as 'The Ant & The Elk' and 'Twelve' by the drummer, and Palle Danelsson's 'Siri' a freer and more open approach to the music was being investigated, and contrasting sharply with the more reflective nature of Diane Taylor's tone poem 'Namasti' and the waltz time 'For Jan' by Wheeler that pointed in the opposite direction.
Despite the apparent difficulties and differences that may have arisen in the making of Juni, all four albums stand up as individual statements that are ultimately enjoyable, however it is when they are heard as a sequence of events in their entirety that the whole picture becomes clear and the position that this particular trio holds not just in the ECM catalogue, but also one of the truly innovative piano trios.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
