Album Review: Wide Awake from Adam Glaser Trio

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Album:  Wide Awake
Artist:  Adam Glaser Trio
Label: Self-Released
Website:  www.adamglaser.com

An assortment of standards like Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's timeless tune "My Romance" and Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox's classic pop song "I Got A Name" move alongside originals inspired by masters like Igor Stravinsky and Robert Schumann on Adam Glaser Trio's latest release Wide Awake. Led by pianist Adam Glaser, the trio is rounded out by Pete Coco on bass and Chris Smith on drums. The trio string together a collection of varying tempos from waltzes to sambas. Latin flavors are sprinkles throughout the recording, sprucing up the orchestral components and offering a gentle sprint in the rhythmic patterns. 

"If You Don't Mind" is a prime sample of the trio's use of Glaser's Latin-tinged keys, which enliven the rhythmic beat to a warm samba.  The waltzing strokes of Glaser's keys along "November" bring out the glistening vibrations of the piano, joined by the slow rising pumps of Coco's bass and the sashaying beats of Smith's drums.  The trio's reimagination of "I Got A Name" embellish the catchy phrasing with spurts of improvisation in Glaser's keys, tiered by the shimmying cadence of the bass and drums.

"Day Trip To Cologne" is an intricate piece, changing moods from sombre to upbeat.  Inspired by composer Robert Schumann, the instrumental moves through stages, shifting the ambience seamlessly between contrasting hues.  Smith's drum solo is energizing and galvanizes the listener.  Succinctly, "Before The Dawn" returns to a gentle flowing musing in the keys, boosting a waltzing phrasing through the melodic progressions.  "Sacrificial Rhumba" has a Westside Story-like strut that travels from an intense tugging and pulling going on among the trio that transitions into an easygoing mambo gait.  The recording concludes with the trio's rendition of "My Romance," showcasing their simpatico natures and penchant for elegant phrasing.

Wide Awake is another chapter in Glaser's catalog of accomplishments, displaying his inclination to take instrumentals off on tangents and out of their familiar routines.  Glaser's lengthy repertoire as a composer and leader features both vintage and contemporary pieces with his latest offering embracing both time periods and blurring the line between them.

Musicians:
Adam Glaser - piano
Pete Coco - bass
Chris Smith - drums

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