Trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire enters into a warm, intentionally spare collaboration with veteran icons guitarist
Bill Frisell and drummer
Herlin Riley on 2023's
Owl Song. In one sense, the album is the sum of its parts and if you know the work of each of these artists, then you'll have a good sense of their combined sound here.
Akinmusire plays with a plaintive, searching style, one that evokes a mix of
Miles Davis and
Kenny Wheeler, but always with his own distinctive tone and harmonic conception. Similarly,
Frisell brings his trademark glassy tone, folk-influenced style, and pointillist lines. Perhaps more unexpected is the choice of
Riley, whose swinging, New Orleans-honed style is somewhat left-of-center for the sort of atmospheric vibe
Akinmusire is going for. That said,
Riley is a master percussionist with a deeply empathetic sense for group interplay. Here, he's given the opportunity to play in a more open-ended, impressionistic way and does so with aplomb, moving between drum set and hand percussion. There's a subtlety to the trio's work, as on "Weighted Corners," where
Frisell plays a delicately plucked arpeggio against
Riley's tambourine rhythm before
Akinmusire enters with a breathy, half-lidded melody. Similarly, on "Flux Feelings,"
Akinmusire plays with a breathy rasp while
Frisell lays down a bluesy two-note twang over
Riley's loping rim-shot grooves.
Akinmusire underscores the intentional simplicity of the project dueting on separate tracks with his bandmates. The aptly titled "Mr. Frisell" is circular, full of spiraling traded lines and moaning trumpet sighs. Conversely, "Mr. Riley" has the feeling of a New Orleans second-line parade as
Akinmusire bends notes, tumbling like a modern dancer over
Riley's kinetic, foot-tapping beat. At times there's a feeling of quiet listening to the trio's work, both in their playing and for the listener -- it's as if you are spying on them from another room. That intense intimacy feels intentional. With
Owl Song,
Akinmusire captures a meeting of two masters that is both meditative and celebratory. ~ Matt Collar
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