Lowell Davidson Trio - Lowell Davidson Trio

On Ornette Coleman’s recommendation, ESP-Disk’ owner Bernard Stollman signed up pianist Lowell Davidson (then majoring in biochemistry at Harvard) for this album without having heard him play. Davidson came to New York and got to work with the elite rhythm section of drummer Milford Graves and bassist Gary Peacock, both stalwarts of the ESP catalog. The interplay among the members of the trio is dazzling, but in all ways the pianist is the star of the album. His playing inevitably drew comparisons to Cecil Taylor (can’t blame the critics too much, as there just weren’t that many pianists going this far out in 1965, so there weren’t many comparisons available), but he is his own man stylistically, and puts more space around his notes. He’s equally likely to unleash complexly intertwining two-handed runs, spicy dissonances, shimmering Impressionism, or poignant lyricism.

When European labels licensed this album for CDs, the sound was a bit grimy, but on the 2008 remaster, all the instruments – even bass – sound much more present, making this secret classic of avant-jazz more enjoyable than ever.