Splash is a new trio led by pianist and composer Myra Melford, featuring bassist Michael Formanek and drummer/vibraphonist Ches Smith. The project is the latest installment of Melford’s work inspired by post-abstract expressionist painter Cy Twombly. The sudden action implied by the trio’s name reflects the kinetic energy in Twombly’s paintings, making Splash a truly exciting debut; one can easily hear that without having seen Twombly’s art – although the painting from the Lepanto cycle on the album cover certainly suggests the vibrant abstractions within.

Melford has studied Twombly’s work since witnessing a major retrospective of his at the Museum of Modern Art three decades ago. Over the last several years, Melford has explored this interest with her quintet Fire and Water (named after a series of Twombly paintings); composed a set of Twombly-related music for MZM (a trio with harpist Zeena Parkins and koto player Miya Masaoka); and plans to investigate similar ideas with bassist Joëlle Léandre. Splash is Melford’s latest response to this artistic legacy, starting a new chapter in her august career as a bandleader.

Recalling her 1990s work with the collective Trio M (with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson), Formanek and Smith are also renowned improvisers, composers, and bandleaders. Together with Melford, they evoke the dynamic volatility of Twombly’s work, but as alert listeners and adept accompanists their versatile range also facilitates chamberlike options, especially when Formanek plays arco and Smith switches to vibraphone. These occasional diversions yield a delicate beauty, flush with impressionistic filigrees and pointillist asides. Beyond such relief, Melford’s expansive compositions for this trio strike a balance between formal design and vivacious spontaneity.

Jagged lyricism contrasts with steady grooves on the opener, “Drift,” where Melford’s flinty cadences careen over the rhythm section’s driving momentum before a pneumatic unaccompanied bass interlude is complemented by luminous vibraphone and piano, followed by fervent improvisations on vibes and then drums over a mesmerizing piano vamp. The more experimental “The Wayward Line” follows with frenzied collective abstraction passing through reflective tonalities, culminating in a probing piano passage at a frantic tempo. “Freewheeler” similarly surges with unflagging force, before suddenly downshifting to highlight Smith’s dulcet vibraphone, which contrasts with the leader’s propulsive determination. “Streaming” kicks off with more rambunctious drumming and funky bass, while pirouetting piano melodies dance above, eventually joined by bowed bass and scintillating vibraphone.

Working in tandem, “A Line with a Mind of Its Own” finds bass and piano performing in parallel, while Smith plays drums with lock-step precision until a pliant piano solo unifies with a melodic line. Conversely, Formanek alternates between Melford and Smith on “Dryprint,” partnering with one then the other to contrast with the odd trio-mate out – it’s as striking an approach as Twombly’s brushwork. Likewise, three untitled “Interludes” scattered about the program each feature a different soloist, while the other two musicians work from a score. Providing final respite, “Chalk” closes the album with shimmering, neo-classical modality. Melford loops repeated pitch sets in repetitive patterns that change speeds, emulating a specific painting – “Untitled, 1970” – that features three coiled lines scrawled across a canvas.

As part of Melford’s continued investigation of Twombly’s work, her sonic interpretations of his visual art come not out of literal transposition, but through implied action. The relationship between Melford’s current music and Twombly’s oeuvre doesn’t need to be fully understood to appreciate it, but it wouldn’t exist in its current form without it. Melford gives her trio-mates ample interpretive freedom on Splash, and together they demonstrate expansive sonic palettes that are as searching and expressive as Twombly’s art.

https://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD91/PoD91MoreMoments4.html

Splash is a new trio led by pianist and composer Myra Melford, featuring bassist Michael Formanek and drummer/vibraphonist Ches Smith. The project is the latest installment of Melford’s work inspired by post-abstract expressionist painter Cy Twombly. The sudden action implied by the trio’s name reflects the kinetic energy in Twombly’s paintings, making Splash a truly exciting debut; one can easily hear that without having seen Twombly’s art – although the painting from the Lepanto cycle on the album cover certainly suggests the vibrant abstractions within.

Melford has studied Twombly’s work since witnessing a major retrospective of his at the Museum of Modern Art three decades ago. Over the last several years, Melford has explored this interest with her quintet Fire and Water (named after a series of Twombly paintings); composed a set of Twombly-related music for MZM (a trio with harpist Zeena Parkins and koto player Miya Masaoka); and plans to investigate similar ideas with bassist Joëlle Léandre. Splash is Melford’s latest response to this artistic legacy, starting a new chapter in her august career as a bandleader.

Recalling her 1990s work with the collective Trio M (with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson), Formanek and Smith are also renowned improvisers, composers, and bandleaders. Together with Melford, they evoke the dynamic volatility of Twombly’s work, but as alert listeners and adept accompanists their versatile range also facilitates chamberlike options, especially when Formanek plays arco and Smith switches to vibraphone. These occasional diversions yield a delicate beauty, flush with impressionistic filigrees and pointillist asides. Beyond such relief, Melford’s expansive compositions for this trio strike a balance between formal design and vivacious spontaneity.

Jagged lyricism contrasts with steady grooves on the opener, “Drift,” where Melford’s flinty cadences careen over the rhythm section’s driving momentum before a pneumatic unaccompanied bass interlude is complemented by luminous vibraphone and piano, followed by fervent improvisations on vibes and then drums over a mesmerizing piano vamp. The more experimental “The Wayward Line” follows with frenzied collective abstraction passing through reflective tonalities, culminating in a probing piano passage at a frantic tempo. “Freewheeler” similarly surges with unflagging force, before suddenly downshifting to highlight Smith’s dulcet vibraphone, which contrasts with the leader’s propulsive determination. “Streaming” kicks off with more rambunctious drumming and funky bass, while pirouetting piano melodies dance above, eventually joined by bowed bass and scintillating vibraphone.

Working in tandem, “A Line with a Mind of Its Own” finds bass and piano performing in parallel, while Smith plays drums with lock-step precision until a pliant piano solo unifies with a melodic line. Conversely, Formanek alternates between Melford and Smith on “Dryprint,” partnering with one then the other to contrast with the odd trio-mate out – it’s as striking an approach as Twombly’s brushwork. Likewise, three untitled “Interludes” scattered about the program each feature a different soloist, while the other two musicians work from a score. Providing final respite, “Chalk” closes the album with shimmering, neo-classical modality. Melford loops repeated pitch sets in repetitive patterns that change speeds, emulating a specific painting – “Untitled, 1970” – that features three coiled lines scrawled across a canvas.

As part of Melford’s continued investigation of Twombly’s work, her sonic interpretations of his visual art come not out of literal transposition, but through implied action. The relationship between Melford’s current music and Twombly’s oeuvre doesn’t need to be fully understood to appreciate it, but it wouldn’t exist in its current form without it. Melford gives her trio-mates ample interpretive freedom on Splash, and together they demonstrate expansive sonic palettes that are as searching and expressive as Twombly’s art.

https://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD91/PoD91MoreMoments4.html