A student and compatriot of Los Angeles-based pianist, composer and organizer Horace Tapscott, Curtis Clark has called both Amsterdam and Maine home. He's worked in groups with reedmen David Murray and John Tchicai, bassist Ernst Glerum, and drummers Han Bennink and Louis Moholo-Moholo. Taagi finds him in the company of the Dallas rhythm section of drummer Stefan Gonzalez and bassist Aaron Gonzalez, brothers and the progeny of trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez. This trio was short-lived and formed for a tour in the southern US in the spring of 2009, but mindful of a little shakiness, its rapport is curious and undeniable. Clark's phrasing is both rhapsodic and earthily gospelized; at the outset of "Suite: Joy/Blessings," the squirrely tug of his arpeggios is brought home with anthemic snatches and a warm left hand. Delicate upward spirals contrast with blocky weights in this unaccompanied recital. The Gonzalez brothers' entry several minutes in is a jolt to the system, airy cymbal flutter and snare skimming in at least triple-time, strengthened underneath by gutsy pizzicato.
It is assumed that, in the trio model, each side will contribute equally to the music, an utter balance of fluidity. The triangle represented by this group is uneven, which is interesting—most of the pieces begin as piano solos that are wholly contained units, then sketched around and turned on their ends by a telepathic, but sometimes equally insular duo. "New York City Wildlife" has a skumpy, creeping melody reminiscent of Horace Silver's odder tunes, and it is the improvisation on this theme where the free-time swirl of the three begins to gel. Taagi is built of forces that contrast and, while not violently so, their imbalance creates an edgy air, where Bill Evans-isms come together and fall apart just as quickly.
Clifford Allen
credits
released October 1, 2010
NBCD 11
Recorded 1-2nd May, 2009 by Dennis Gonzalez at South Dallas Cultural Center, Dallas, TX and Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, TX
Mixed in Dallas by Dennis Gonzalez, May 4, 5, and 6, 2009
Mastered by Arunas Zujus at MAMAstudios, Vilnius, Lithuania
Photos by Nari Mann
Design by Oskaras Anosovas
1. Suite Joy/Blessings 12:06
2. Suite Water Colors/New York City Wildlife 15:25
3. Taagi 15:25
4. Joy 6:16
5. Blessings 10:10
6. Beautiful Love 7:32
Curtis Clark - piano
Aaron Gonzalez - bass
Stefan Gonzalez - drums
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