Triptych Myth – The Beautiful

Overall Rating: 8.2 (out of 10)         Label: Aum Fidelity

I am at a loss in reviewing this, as William Parker’s review in the liner notes says everything more eloquently than I could. Triptych Myth is a downtown NYC trio featuring Cooper-Moore on piano, Tom Abbs on bass and Chad Taylor on drums. Cooper-Moore is the known entity here for me, although I’ve more often heard him playing his homemade instruments.

Cooper-Moore’s piano is center stage on this recording, if only because it’s the most prominent in the mix. The music is definitely that of a trio, though. These musicians are having conversations, listening to each other, pushing each other and the music forward. The music itself is varied in type and tone. The opener, “All Up In It,” is a thunderstorm of notes and percussion. “Frida K. The Beautiful” is a more mournful and textured piece. “Spiraling Out” is a standout that I believe would appeal to fans of Matthew Shipp and Cecil Taylor without particularly sounding like either of these men. “Pooch (for Wilbur Morris)” comes out of nowhere to break things up: heartfelt, with sometimes spare, melodic piano and bowed bass complemented by skittering and often frantic drums, this one is the highlight of the release for me.

That said, there’s not a bad track here, and the second half of the disc continues to mix things up, mixing elements of the avant garde, traditional jazz, classical and contemporary composition to wonderful effect. There are snippets that would not sound out of place on a recording of Gershwin, Guaraldi or Grubbs. Yet the music sounds like none of these, and rather than sounding fragmented, it presents a very unified, coherent and beautiful aesthetic. “Poppa’s Gin in the Chicken Feed,” another standout, is a terrific example of what I’m talking about.

It can be difficult at times to have this on as background music while reading, as many of the songs demand attention. I find that I’m most interested and impressed when listening to the bass, as it tends to be lowest in the mix, and following it closely allows me to hear all instruments/musicians equally. Triptych Myth is indeed a creative and collaborative force making some beautiful music – it’s a shame it’s taken me so long to realize it.