Michael Moore / Peggy Lee / Dylan van der Schyff
Floating 1...2...3
 
 
 

Michael Moore, clarinet, alto saxophone
Peggy Lee, cello
Dylan van der Schyff, drums, etc
 
 

Recorded at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 2000 by Marc L'Esperance.

What the Critics are Saying:
 

There are recordings whose titles seem to say it all about their contents, as does this one.  Heard in this latest issue from the Canadian label Spool is an intimate and airy (or eerie) sounding trio comprised of Holland-based reedist Michael Moore and the now stalwart Vancouver twosome of Peggy Lee (cello), and her partner, the ever-engaging percussionist Dylan van der Schyff.  Released two and a half years after its recording at the Vancouver Jazz Fest, this CD documents three instant compositions in which the guest roams a little further beyond his melodic proclivites to explore more of the sonics of both his clarinets and alto sax.  By and large it's the cellist who seems to be guiding the proceedings here, with the drummer pattering behind her and the front man musing along according to his whims.

Sad that it ended so quickly.  It's a program of restraint more than release, of tension and suspension more than quick and easy resolution.  This isn't to say there aren't any visceral pleasures and emphatic declamations made during these improvisations, but simply that there's a ton of taste here.

Although associated with many free and crazy European musicians, [Moore] has a real ear for melody and lyricism, which is a great binding agent for the fluttery sounds of Lee and van der Schyff.  On this recording, he becomes the de facto leader because of the way his melodies work;  Lee occasionally comes to the forefront but she and van der Schyff's game plan is to play supporting roles.  It sounds like Lee and Moore are in the same harmonic space most of the time, which makes this music sound more composed than it is.  I must admit I enjoy it when they explore riff-like passages, as both Moore and Lee are very good at seizing the right repetitions; perhaps Lee has developed her knack for it in her rock-like big band project.