Anything Is Possible: A Quick Review Of The New Album From Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson, And Carlos Niño On Blue Note

Calling themselves the Openness Trio, three of my favorite players in modern jazz join forces for a new record on seminal label Blue Note. Nate Mercereau, Josh Johson, and Carlos Niño - Openness Trio finds these musicians offering up material which straddles the line between free jazz and fusion. Anyone who's found the material they've worked on before interesting, will likely be ready to dive in here.

"Hawk Dreams" expands, growing in force as the players stake their territory. Saxophonist Josh Johnson finds easy purchase in the loose grooves of the cut, bringing that unique spark to this record that he brought to that recent Brandee Younger one, while Carlos Niño keeps things interesting with a variety of percussive accents. The more abstract "Anything is Possible" is more challenging, a step into something significantly less structured. The trio has a nice synergy here, as each finds a portion of the track to stake out and own, even as the whole enterprise retains a real spontaneous energy which is rare on a studio-recorded jazz record as far as I'm concerned. The epic length "Openness" is transcendant in spots, the trio cutting loose and letting the music sort of disintegrate and recongeal around them. Portions of this long piece are chaotic, and parts are smooth, but it's an excellent track and a real showcase for each member of the trio to bring new shades and flavors to this music.

Nate Mercereau, Josh Johson, and Carlos Niño - Openness Trio is more free jazz than one might expect given this imprint, and given some of the records these folks have played on. That said, the musicians find ways to soar, especially on that long final cut, and the entire album occupies its own sound-world that seems the result of these guys coming to this with a real sense of -- dare I say it? -- openness. The entire record speaks to that, and creates a vibe that I really enjoyed.

Nate Mercereau, Josh Johson, and Carlos Niño - Openness Trio is out now via Blue Note.

[Photo: Tom Weaver]