Aeroplane Trio

Vancouver, BC trumpet player J.P. Carter and drummer Skye Brooks have been ubiquitous on Drip Audio recordings. They maintain regular membership in Fond of Tigers and the Inhabitants, to name just two, and here launch their long-gestating debut by the Aeroplane Trio, along with bassist Russell Sholberg. The trio display masterful songwriting, sonic meditations and straight out grooving. Right off the top, "Pre-Rumble" contains a wonderful section of Carter and Sholberg exploring some dirty low-end, sounding almost like throat singing. I really enjoy hearing Carter without the usual electronic processing that characterizes his work; his ability to mesh with Sholberg's textural ideas comes up again and again on the album, and Brooks matches them with imaginative drum work. The band groove quite capably in jams like "Whitehorse" and molasses bossa abstraction "Callejula," featuring a more conventional trio sound and rhythmic heft. This trio's variety is presented in its best light by the excellent track sequencing, and the package comes with a DVD, so you can witness the interplay personally.