Album Review: In Flower, In Song from Trio Xolo

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Album:  In Flower, In Song
Artist:  Trio Xolo
Label:  577 Records
Website:  https://577records.bandcamp.com/album/in-flower-in-song

In Flower, In Song, the debut album from Trio Xolo, a modern era avant garde jazz trio, explores the jazz palette, indulging in polyrhythms, tone clusters, and improvisation.  The trio is a collaboration made up of bassist Zachary Swanson, saxophonist Derrick Michaels and Lithuanian percussionist Dalius Naujo.  The music is entirely improvised, layering chord patterns that move the tracks in different directions, forming a complex maze.

Sharing a kindred spirit with the impulsive exchange and organic communication expressed in pianist/composer Michael Braam's jazz combos and demonstrating an exploratory nature relatable to drummer/bandleader Elvin Jones, Trio Xolo experiments with the range of their instruments, intertwining their individual voices into intricate labyrinths.  Michaels's tenor sax soars and rumbles above the pumping beats of Swanson's bass as Naujo's drums flare and splash, projecting a tribal pounce.  Their improvisations show a stream of consciousness communication that pervade a jam session vibe.  

Swanson's solo on "Anchored in Peace" breaks from the multi-layered patterns of the other tracks, providing a focused phrasing that holds the listener's concentration.  As the track progresses, Nauja lightly sprinkles pouncing drum strikes along Michaels's saxophone toots, which scroll soft swirls across the melodic bedding.   The abstract forms overlapping across the instrumentation of "Ritualistic" pull the listener in different directions, a recurring theme throughout the recording.

In Flower, In Song was recorded live on March 19, 2019 by Michael Perez-Cisneros at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, New York.  Through the trio's organic experimentation with speed, range, tone, elasticity, and chord patterns, the recording puts into physical form their off-the-cuff communication with one another.  Their collaboration forms complex mazes that project a primal rawness indicative of the avant garde breed.

Musicians:
Zachary Swanson - double bass
Derrick Michaels - tenor saxophone
Dalius Naujo - drums

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