Kris Davis Trio - Run the Gauntlet (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Pianist, composer, improviser, and label owner Kris Davis has been forging her own distinctive path in the creative jazz scene, earning widespread acclaim. In Run the Gauntlet, Davis returns to the piano trio format for the first time in a decade, teaming up with seasoned bassist Robert Hurst and sensitive drummer Johnathan Blake. The album pays tribute to six extraordinary women pianists who have profoundly shaped her sound and influenced her musical direction: Geri Allen, Marilyn Crispell, Angelica Sanchez, Carla Bley, Renee Rosnes, and Sylvie Courvoisier.

Straddling the line between post-bop and avant-garde jazz, the title track, “Run the Gauntlet”, opens with a palpable tension, featuring odd-metered ostinatos that weave in and out over the rhythmic turmoil of bass and drums. The piece gradually finds a groove, with dynamic shifts and tempo changes, as the trio delivers head-spinning improvisations. Blake's drumming intensifies the conclusion by erecting a massive wall of snare, cymbals, and toms. “Knotweed” hints at prog-rock in its initial moments before slipping into Monk/Coltrane territory in its firmly outlined head. The trio swings with humor and grace, pushing the piece into a frenetic avant-garde finale.

TRACKLIST

1. Kris Davis Trio - Run the Gauntlet
2. Kris Davis Trio - Softly, As You Wake
3. Kris Davis Trio - First Steps
4. Kris Davis Trio - Little Footsteps
5. Kris Davis Trio - Heavy-footed
6. Kris Davis Trio - Beauty Beneath the Rubble
7. Kris Davis Trio - Beauty Beneath the Rubble Meditation
8. Kris Davis Trio - Knotweed
9. Kris Davis Trio - Coda Queen
10. Kris Davis Trio - Dream State
11. Kris Davis Trio - Subtones



Thanks to the Original customer.