Artt Frank/Joe Cartwright/Steve Rigazzi

That Trio Thing

MJA Records

CDmja 517

Personnel: Artt Frank, drums; Joe Cartwright, piano;
Steve Rigazzi, bass
Tracks: Blues in the Closet; In Your Own Sweet Way;
My Romance; Bro Samba; Unit VI; Refuge; Dat Dere;
You and the Night and the Music; I've Never Been in
Love Before
Recorded September 25, 2000 and January 7, 2002 at
Schmitt Music, Overland Park, KS; Kenneth Barry,
engineer. Mixed at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City,
MO; Ron Ubel, engineer.

"A threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Ecclesiastes 4:12

"Artt Frank is my all-time favorite drummer," Chet Baker once declared. "He always seems to know where I'm going." At this stage in his career as composer, lyricist, and ultimate Bop drummer, Frank always seems to know where he's going, literally and geographically as well as musically. Take Kansas City, for example, where he came to record That Trio Thing with Joe Cartwright and Steve Rigazzi.
Frank's play-by-ear style is authentic bebop. Working with Cartwright and Rigazzi, according to Frank, "is as good as it gets!" Nice accolades from one of the best rhythm players on the scene. Cartwright, credited by Dave Brubeck for talent and imagination, says the new album "emphasizes spontaneity and empathy… truly the essence of jazz." Offering three original compositions between two sets of three standards each, the recording was "virtually unrehearsed," adds Rigazzi, "and completely fresh."
In science, the triple point is the condition of temperature and pressure under which the three phases of a substance—gaseous, liquid, and solid—can exist in equilibrium. From Cartwright's first keyboard note on Oscar Pettiford's "Blues in the Closet," the group achieves optimal triple-point condition. Next, Frank's sweet brushstrokes introduce the classic Brubeck tribute to his wife, Iola, after which "My Romance" from Rodgers and Hart frolics.
"Bro Samba," composed by Frank in memory of his three departed brothers, epitomizes pain, pathos, and poignancy The pianist then provides a soulful tribute to his son, Joseph Lafayette Cartwright VI, before a Frank-Cartwright ballad,"Refuge," hauntingly reflects on the tragedy of 9/11. A smart "Dat Dere" ends with an echo of laughter from the players. Two romantic, swinging works follow, first from the 1930s era Dietz & Schwartz book and finally from Frank Loesser and the 1950 Broadway musical, "Guys and Dolls."
Top jazz artists embody artistic freedom. Using brushes exclusively, Frank paints the drumskins with a vivid palette of colors. Like Picasso on canvas, Frank plays with the compositional possibilities of the scene around him and creates a new, exciting vernacular. Rigazzi and Cartwright embrace the Arttistic philosophy of music—to build a spiritual unity in the sound. Assembled for the first time, the trio already speaks with one pure, true voice.
Together, Cartwright, Frank, and Rigazzi know where they're going. Enjoy the journey as they arrive at complete, three-in-one, equilibrium via That Trio Thing.
—Tom Fredrick