Mathilde 253 – “Mathilde 253” – [Slam]

Max Level   2/21/2011   CD, Jazz

Charles Hayward (percussion, melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn) in a trio setting, recorded live in London April 2010. The action rises and falls as the three engage in improvised dialogues. The first five tracks are nice, but for me there isn’t enough variation from one to another, so listening to a couple of them is all I need in one sitting. My favorite tracks are the last two, in which the group is joined by saxophone legend Lol Coxhill. The four minute guitar/sax duet at the beginning of Track 6 is inspired; the two really seem to be conversing with one another.