Label: Shifting Paradigm Records, 2025

Personnel - Michael Cain: piano; Keith Price: guitar; Pheeroan AkLaff: drums.

Zoo Too Trio consists of pianist Michael Cain, a member of Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition; Canadian-born, New Zealand-based guitarist Keith Price; and esteemed avant-garde drummer Pheeroan AkLaff, who anchored groups led by Cecil Taylor, Henry Threadgill, and Anthony Braxton. Their debut album, Poetry Legroom, reveals a deep musical connection and an introspective-leaning style that is not devoid of mystery and exploration.

The cloudless “O’Neil’s Bay” evokes majestic dawning landscapes, presented as a velvety pop/rock song, subtly jazzified by gentle harmonies. This solidly structured musing reflects the terrain the trio navigates, leading into “Poetry Legroom Okinawa Children”, where rhapsodic piano phrases of variable lengths, together with odd-meter cycles generate a sense of irregularity. Price carves his own path, while AkLaff steps forward for a transitory solo passage, orchestrating rich timbral designs from the drumkit.

Ron Blake’s “Waltz For Gwen” feels like a classic jazz number in Cain’s hands, who also appears unaccompanied in the rubato piece “Solodos”. “Song 1 Day 1” places the guitar in the lead, supported by organ and brushed drumming, channeling a mix of church/gospel tones and the soulful jazz vibes of Grant Green.

“Waxing Gibbous” unfolds as a layered triangular construction—half-dreamy, half-cerebral, yet consistently haunting and atmospheric. A four-beat guitar motif, ample cymbal washes, rattling percussion, and understated piano enclose the listener in a suspended cloud that puffs with AkLaff’s late-arriving cool beat, as well as recurrent notes and electronic frequencies. The ambient-leaning “Winter Fog Morning” doesn’t shy away from a sweet insouciance that feels wry yet unsentimental.

Some minimalist ideas might intensify but never quite climax into new realms, as the trio indulges in a certain languidity, bringing their individual voices into ambient moods marked by a wide range of emotion. This is the kind of good-natured music that makes us feel peaceful inside.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - O’Neil’s Bay ► 02 - Poetry Legroom Okinawa Children ► 05 - Waxing Gibbous

Label: ECM Records, 2023

Personnel - Dominic Miller: guitar; Jacob Karlzon: piano, keyboard; Nicolas Fiszman; bass; Ziv Ravitz: drums.

Argentine-born guitarist Dominic Miller is best known for his work with Sting. He’s an even-tempered musician with a firm yet understated voice who mostly opts for solo and duo sessions. Nonetheless, in this recording he leads a quartet with two new faces in the lineup, namely Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon and the sought-after Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz, who demonstrated rhythmic abilities in the trios of Christopher Irniger and Shai Maestro, as well as in a couple of outings from saxophonist Oded Tzur. Rounding out the group is bassist Nicolas Fiszman, a recurring collaborator.

The music on Vagabond - titled after John Masefield’s poem - is soft on the ear and appeasing to the soul and mind. The opening title, “All Change”, is an open-ended cycle with an impressionistic underpinning, whereas “Cruel But Fair” is a brushed pop ballad soaked in Sting fashion. This precedes the rubato “Open Heart”, a cozy sonic space for reflection and where a world-inspired placidity reinforces the high levels of intimacy.

The ensemble is meticulous in crafting late-night slow dances and “Clandestin” glistens with a delicate pulsing quality and graceful funk demeanor. It might seem restricted to a bass pedal and undeviating percussion, but that’s not necessarily an obstruction to freedom. Moreover, it’s cuddled with nice linguistic observations by Karlzon. “Mi Viejo”, composed for Miller's father, is a yearning solo guitar effort that anticipates the poignant closer “Lone Waltz”.
The easy listening offerings in Vagabond don’t transcend or frustrate.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - All Change ► 03 - Open Heart ► 08 - Lone Waltz