MYRIAD3
AT THE REX HOTEL
On a
cool spring evening, I decided to check out the sounds of a new piano trio
named Myriad3. In essence it is a
classic acoustic piano trio with an identity and character of its own that
exhibits itself through its intense original compositions along with quirky
takes on standard repertoire.
The
three members, consisting of Chris Donnelly on piano, Dan Fortin on bass, and
Ernesto Cervini on drums, are placing themselves to be the new voices of
Canadian jazz, through their creative approaches to their instruments and the
vast quality of original work that they put out on the table. Myriad3 can simply be called Canada’s answer
to another contemporary power trio, “The Bad Plus”, with its means of taking
the music forward into the 21st century and beyond, while respecting
the great past of jazz at the same time.
Two
of the opening originals, “Myriad” and “The Strong One”, treat the trio as if
it was a chamber ensemble, with its tight arrangements and precise
writing. The pieces even build he
intensity level into a climatic finish that keeps the audience enthralled and
wanting for more from this band. Out of
the original pieces, I must say that I loved Chris Donnelly’s “Billy-ish”, a
rhythm-changes composition that pushes the boundaries of swing and bebop into
contemporary times, making it fresh and vibrant for both the listener and the
band.
When
I came into the club, I noticed computers, drum pads, keyboards, and Nintendo
video game controllers set up. I don’t
know what I was going to expect. When
the time came, I happened to participate in a friendly video game of Super
Mario Brothers, while the Myriad3 trio plays the entire score in succession to
the game. This was a clever experiment
on how contemporary jazz interpretation and audience participation can work
well in an harmonious setting. They
even did the same thing to another classic video game, Double Dragon. They pulled off the video game scores
meticulously, making it come to life right before our ears and eyes.
In
addition to interpreting contemporary material and original music, Myriad3 has
a knack of re-arranging tried, tested and true standards and making it their
own. For instance, their arrangement of
Duke Ellington’s C-Jam Blues goes through various key and tempo changes,
creating an effect that resembles a broken cassette tape recorder or a tape
recorder low on batteries. Even their
stop-and-go techniques and tempo variations echo the great rhythm section of
Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams from the Miles Davis Second
Quintet with Wayne Shorter.
From
what I saw on Monday night, this is a serious trio to watch out for, and it
really shows the spirit of jazz is alive and well when young musicians are
willing to respect the past while laying hold to the present, thus creating a
future that is promising, enlightening, and vibrant. Be sure to pick up their album and for a
taste of what to experience at a Myriad3 concert, here is a performance of
their arrangement of “Bebop Medley”.
MYRIAD3
OFFICIAL WEB SITE
CHRIS
DONNELLY OFFICIAL WEB SITE
DAN
FORTIN OFFICIAL WEB SITE
ERNESTO
CERVINI WEB SITE
(MYRIAD3 PLAYING TO THE VIDEO GAME DOUBLE DRAGON)
(MYRIAD3 IN ACTION)
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