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Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961)
Released
The album that changed piano trios forever. Rather than merely walking behind Bill Evans's delicate chords, bassist Scott LaFaro steps into the spotlight as an agile melodic partner, while drummer Paul Motian uses brushes to colour the phrasing with subtle cymbals rather than rigid timekeeping.
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Money Jungle (2002)
Released
A combustible summit meeting between three stubborn jazz titans. Duke Ellington attacks the piano with percussive, dissonant ferocity, while Charles Mingus wrestles with his bass strings in aggressive counter-melodies and Max Roach drives the tension forward with relentless, volcanic polyrhythms.
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Night Train (1963)
Released
Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen functioned like a single eighteen-limbed musical organism. On classic blues cuts like C Jam Blues, Brown's muscular, resonant walking basslines lock in seamlessly with Thigpen's crisp snare work, creating an irresistible swing foundation for Peterson's dazzling runs.
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Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1988)
Released
A landmark in modern post-bop agility. Chick Corea's fleet-fingered, Latin-inflected piano lines engage in a dizzying musical chase with Miroslav Vitous's singing upright bass, while master drummer Roy Haynes comments on every phrase with razor-sharp snap-crackle snare accents and shimmering cymbals.
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The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 5 (1958)
Released
Bebop pioneer Bud Powell leads a hard-bop masterclass alongside bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. On classic originals like Cleopatra's Dream, Powell's rapid right-hand horn-like lines trade explosive energy with Chambers's agile, driving basslines and Taylor's crisp, driving ride cymbal work.
More about The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 56
Inception (1962)
Released
Recorded during McCoy Tyner's legendary tenure with John Coltrane, this trio date highlights his thunderous modal power. Joined by bassist Art Davis and Coltrane's powerhouse drummer Elvin Jones, the trio navigates complex shifting meters with explosive rhythmic momentum and joyful melodic lyricism.
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Concert by the Sea (1955)
Released
Recorded live in a former church in Carmel, California, Erroll Garner's joy is completely infectious. Famous for his delayed right-hand attack playing just behind the beat, Garner keeps a playful, continuous dialogue with bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Denzil Best that makes complex jazz swing with irresistible warmth.
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Sonny Clark Trio (1960)
Released
The quintessential Blue Note hard bop trio album. Sonny Clark's blues-soaked piano touch is matched step for step by the peerless rhythm section of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The trio breathes as one, trading witty rhythmic variations and swinging with effortless streetwise swagger.
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The Art of the Trio, Volume 1 (1997)
Released
Brad Mehldau revitalised the acoustic jazz trio for the twenty-first century. Blending Romantic classical counterpoint with odd-meter rhythms, Mehldau's independent two-handed piano playing weaves complex dialogues with Larry Grenadier's deep, grounding bass and Jorge Rossy's sensitive brush patterns.
More about The Art of the Trio, Volume 110
These Are the Vistas (2003)
Released
Minneapolis trio The Bad Plus shattered the polite decorum of traditional jazz clubs. Ethan Iverson's jagged classical chords, Reid Anderson's booming bass riffs and Dave King's thunderous, rock-infused drumming collide in an exhilarating acoustic conversation that deconstructs pop anthems and original avant-garde compositions alike.
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Seven Days of Falling (2003)
Released
Sweden's E.S.T. brought arena-rock dynamics and Scandinavian folk melancholy to the piano trio format. Esbjörn Svensson's luminous piano melodies intertwine with Dan Berglund's distorted, bowed bass and Magnus Öström's hypnotic, groove-based drumming to build soaring, cinematic dynamic climaxes.
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v2.0 (2014)
Released
Manchester trio GoGo Penguin perform an acoustic translation of modern electronic dance music. Pianist Chris Illingworth plays rapid, minimalist arpeggios that converse with Nick Blacka's propulsive double basslines and Rob Turner's intricate, breakbeat-inspired acoustic drum patterns with thrilling precision.
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