The Uninvited

You shouldn't take this album's title literally. The guys from Modo Trio actually did invite Jamie Saft up to Edmonton, Alberta for a recording session. And their pairing was a stroke of genius. The Fender Rhodes of the longtime Cuong Vu and John Zorn sideman is a perfect match for Craig Brenan's harmonized trombone. In fact, and especially since this is Modo Trio's debut release, after listening to The Uninvited, one has difficulty imagining how the trio might sound sans Saft. Yes, they blend that well on a creative level. The Uninvited presents ten pieces ranging from two to eight minutes in duration. The four musicians explore a wide palette of moods. "Dream #8" and "Solace," for instance, are delicately penned ballads featuring Brenan's subdued trombone melodies gracefully swirling over Saft's ethereal Rhodes playing. At the other end of the spectrum are tracks like "Rocket Sauce," "Bender" and "Furious," where the rhythm section formed by drummer Bill George and bassist Jeff Johnson kicks into near drum'n'bass mode. That is also where Brenan uses his harmonizer, and the result is a funky, slightly electronic-sounding avant-jazz — a slight techno take on Medeski, Martin & Wood, although nothing here actually sounds derivative. In between these two extremes are tracks like "You Are Being Probed," a groovy jam in which Brenan puts his harmonizer hard at work while stretching solos in a fashion similar to electric Miles Davis. The sheer beauty of "Dream #8"'s melody, the insistent head of "Furious" and the unlikely dub closer "No Harm" (with Saft on rhythm guitar!) are only a few of the highlights found on The Uninvited, a highly refreshing album of creative jazz. ~ François Couture, Rovi