Tim Armacost Trio - Time Being [CD]

The beginnings of this debut Whirlwind release as leader, from acclaimed Los Angeles-born tenor saxophonist Tim Armacost, tell a fascinating tale. A marquee player on the New York and Japanese scenes for many years, with countless live and recorded collaborations to his name (including the New York Standards Quartet recordings on this label), the clear direction for 'Time Being' arrived, remarkably, out of the blue. <p>As Armacost elaborates: "I pictured myself playing Ornette Coleman's Lonely Woman in the studio with a trio - double bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Jeff 'Tain' Watts. Tain was, in terms of time signature, out on his own, and Bob and I were communicating with each other independently of what he was playing. But what Tain was doing was so incredible attractive - so fiery and so beautiful - that we both really wanted to go over and be part of that; yet we already had this thing that we had to do together.</p> <p>"So for my compositions and arrangements, I needed to imagine the ideas happening in real time; and fortunately, with Tain and Bob on board - some of the most swinging musicians on the planet - there was a great, combined willingness for exploration, to make it happen." Joining the trio on selected tracks is pianist David Kikowski, providing elegant, rippling colour to numbers such as 'The Next 20' and 'One and Four'.</p> <p>Personnel: Tim Armacost (tenor saxophone), Robert Hurst (double bass), David Kikoski (piano), Jeff 'Tain' Watts (drums)</p>