jack dejohnette / dave holland / jason moran - charlie parker jazz festival - NYC, aug 28

• photography by Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas

The long-awaited first performance of this new groundbreaking trio co-led by the veteran drummer Jack DeJohnette, the no less acclaimed bassist Dave Holland, and the persuasive pianist Jason Moran, didn’t disappoint the avid enthusiasts that set foot in the popular Tompkins Park. 

It was widely expected that this trio of bandleaders would step out of the mainstream, and that was exactly what happened this evening. They explored and explored and explored according to their own vision and intuition, regardless if the tune was a known jazz standard or something else. 
“Caravan”, for instance, appeared less Latinized than what we are used to, becoming completely deconstructed throughout its harmonic passages. 
The trio also decided to honor the influential vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, recently deceased, by playing “Montara”, one of his compositions that flew unambiguously with relaxed, cozy tones.
The five tunes presented, relying on a variety of intensities and colors, let us engage in the rapid counterpoints and brisk piano strokes by Moran, always well responded by DeJohnette’s classy and sometimes-complex drumming, and the unclouded approach of Holland who bewitched the crowd with jaw-dropping improvisations and his heavenly crisp sound.

The CP Jazz Festival couldn’t have had a better ending. 
This concert was a sort of organic discomposure where we could literally feel the ‘power of the trio’.