String Trio of New York with Paul Kane: Intimations

In a recording career spanning 19 albums going back to 1979's First String (Black Saint), the String Trio of New York has consistently produced an impressive body of music dedicated to obliterating the boundaries separating jazz from other idioms. The artistic breadth of the group has always resisted easy categorization, as a wide range of classical and folk forms peek through at any given moment despite the group's obvious affinity for the jazz tradition. One constant which has endured is the trio's penchant for adventure and discovery—and on this record, its first since 2008's The River of Orion: Thirty Years Running (Black Saint), that spirit is manifest in its decision to work with celebrated poet Paul Kane, in a live performance at SUNY Orange in 2023.

Although guitarist James Emery remains the only link to the group's origins, bassist John Lindberg having left after River of Orion and a series of successors to violinist Billy Bang having come and gone over the decades, the current configuration proves more than capable of building on the trio's storied legacy—now with Emery's compositions at the fore. Rob Thomas handled the violin duties on River of Orion and continues to excel here, with lyrical passages and fleet excursions galore, while the most recent addition, bassist Tony Marino, is similarly multifaceted, offering rock-solid support or nimble improvisations throughout the record. Drummer/percussionist Thurman Barker adds rhythmic potency to a number of the cuts. As for Emery, he is clearly in top form, with astonishingly fluid runs on the breakneck-paced "Pursuit of Happiness" and a delightfully spunky solo on "Blues for Seligmann," the only two tracks that do not feature Kane. These pieces readily evoke the spirit of STNY of old, with airtight rapport and fearless imagination in abundance.

As strong as the trio is on its own, Kane's presence clearly brings another valuable dimension to the music. Integrating several of his own poems in addition to three original translations of the work of 14th-century Persian poet Hafiz of Shiraz, Kane becomes a true equal in the ensemble, seamlessly joining his insights to the group's melodic and improvisatory flights. The folksy opener, "Down Home Tone Poem," first featured on Emery's Transformations (Between the Lines, 2003), gently gives way to Kane's "Aubade," a quiet rumination on the break of dawn, with the group augmenting Kane's patient delivery while leaving plenty of space for reflection. Kane's unhurried style allows Emery, Thomas and Marino ample opportunities for apt interjections or commentary, as on "Black Diamond/Shadows," in which Emery and Thomas weave lithe passages through and around Kane's lines, complementing but not obstructing him.

Kane's translations of Hafiz are potent and paradoxical, capturing intertwined spiritual and earthly yearnings, and "EPedal/Ghazal 151" is an ideal vehicle, with a subtle groove augmented by Barker's toms and well-placed percussion supporting Kane's mysterious pursuit of "the steeps and descents of love's desert." Just as compelling, "In a Secret Place/Ghazal 373" provides a disarmingly lovely opening to another reflection on the intensity of spiritual devotion. Kane delves into the complexity of these poems with reverence and more than a hint of whimsy, doing justice to the Sufi master's unique vision.

Perhaps most impressive is the album's closer, "Denouement/Seven Catastrophes in Four Movements," a 13-minute extravaganza of dynamic improvisation built around Kane's tribute to "Catastrophe Theory," an approach to complex systems which stresses the importance of collapse in societal and biological organisms. Alongside Kane's fractured observations on chaos and impermanence, the musicians' contributions echo and magnify these musings, threatening to devolve completely but yet finding new ways to cohere. The beauty lies in the music's celebration of indeterminacy and ever-unfolding possibility, which renders Kane the perfect collaborator for this unique ensemble, fortunately back together after a too-long hiatus.   

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