Trio Live

The CD reissue of this set added nothing to the playing time and track sequence originally on the LP version, suggesting that perhaps something was felt inadequate about the original recordings, any leftovers judged to be truly spoiled. A certain quality level is immediately attained just by having Steve Lacy insert a soprano saxophone in his mouth — indeed, there are apparently collector's tapes of the man brushing his teeth. In his concept of jazz and improvising, there would definitely be a difference between relating to a percussionist in a duo setting of just horn and drums and the trio rhythm section lineup that is featured here, in which the drummer and double bassist are expected to form some kind of locomotive energy unit. While that might not always be true if the group were coming from the British free improvisation scene, for example, a certain jazz quotient is expected in the case of musicians led by Lacy. This could have been a bit less the case for Lacy in the mid-'70s, when this music was recorded live before a northern Italian audience, but there is still a sense that the drummer is running behind, hoping either the bandleader or the fleet-fingered bassist might remember to hold the door open for him and all his cumbersome drum equipment. The vast array of percussion colors that worked to Centazzo's advantage on his duo encounters with Lacy is problematic here, sometimes filling the air with the scent of 1,000 jumbled spice bags when what really ought to be happening is energy or movement of some kind. Carter is not entirely blameless; he doesn't always think as simply as a bassist should, clouding up spaces with additional commentary that isn't always useful. This was also recorded in a period when a slightly frustrated Lacy would have rather toured with his own group, but took advantage of opportunities such as this ad hoc grouping just the same. To each occasion — and there are many, as anybody who has glanced at the Lacy record pile will readily agree — he brings the more than forceful convictions of his repertoire of compositions, and this aspect is what pulls this performance together with a sharp sense of coherency. The pieces here have all been recorded elsewhere, and listeners interested in the interplay between the horn man and Centazzo ought to check out the duo recording Clangs first.