DKV Trio - Trigonometry (2002)

Like the last DKV Trio release, Live in Wels & Chicago, 1998, Trigonometry is a double-disc set of live performances. Fortunately, the two complete sets and part of a third (all from March of 2001) presented here live up to the high standard set by the 1998 shows. The DKV Trio still specializes in burning, rhythmic energy-jazz spurred on by the melodies of avant-garde masters. Don Cherry's tunes are put to good use here (as his "Complete Communion" theme was on the Wels set from 1998), as are tunes by Joe McPhee (Good-Bye Tom B.) and Duke Ellington (Take the Coltrane). The group does not "cover" these tunes so much as use them as checkpoints within their improvisations. For example, Ken Vandermark's articulation of Cherry's "Awake Nu" in the second set seems to come from in-the-moment inspiration. As usual, Drake and Kessler are the white on Vandermark's rice, hitting all the right accents with only a ghost of a cue from the reedman. This special group unity makes Trigonometry a great listen, if not a real step forward for the group.