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ONE
FINAL NOTE - Top 10: 2005
"As
a master of several homemade instruments, Cooper-Moore’s piano work
is often overshadowed on his recordings; but in the context of Triptych
Myth, C-M’s working trio with bassist Tom Abbs and drummer Chad Taylor,
it’s given the exclusivity that it deserves. Though it’s
impossible—and irrelevant—to pin down specific influences, the
ghosts of Herbie Nichols and early Cecil Taylor hover over the group’s
second full-length recording, one that expands upon the promise of its Hopscotch
debut in terms of both musicianship and sonic fidelity. Indeed, The
Beautiful is so aptly titled, it’s difficult to tell whether it’s
meant as a gesture of tremendous understatement or simply plainspoken truth;
either way, in a surprisingly good year for piano trios, it still towers
above its peers as a definitive treatise on the subject." - Scott
Hreha
ALL ABOUT
JAZZ - READ
THE WHOLE OF IT
"A deeply affecting album of piano-driven interplay that seamlessly
spans a range of jazz genres without a hint of trepidation or a false
step. Receptors and communicators, Cooper-Moore, Tom Abbs and Chad Taylor
have found ways to break away from established structures and patterns
to create a work of boldness and beauty." - Michael McCaw
TIME OUT
CHICAGO
"What's refreshing about Cooper-Moore's outside-in approach is the
way it embraces uncommon variety. "Pooch," an elegy for the
late bassist Wilber Morris, is a gentle theme with gospel flourishes whose
reflective tone is offset by Taylor's dazzling percussive display—imagine
French composer Erik Satie sitting in with bebop master Max Roach.
The title track ("Frida K. the Beautiful"), originally penned
for the stage, likewise juxtaposes languid stretches of lyricism with
sudden bursts of fireworks. Elsewhere, the avant-garde vigor the musician
is known for is translated into boppish rural reveries ("Poppa's
Gin in the Chicken Feed") and delicate chamber pieces ("Robina
Pseudoacacia"). Throughout
the disc, Triptych Myth thrives on its own group dynamic.
The trio functions neither as an ad-hoc jam outfit nor as an overbaked
concept act. Instead, The Beautiful heralds an increasingly rare
and welcome thing in jazz: a great working band." - Steve Dollar
ALL
ABOUT JAZZ - Top 10: 2005
"Free yet highly accessible and melodic and...beautiful. And a bonus:
William Parker's informative, poetic liner notes." - Dan McClenaghan
JUNKMEDIA - READ
this whole beautifully astute review.
"The
Beautiful is a historically aware case study in the diversity of a
music whose relevance only deepens with the passage of time." -
Troy Collins
DOWNBEAT
"On its second disc, Tripytch Myth makes fire music that just as often melts into sweet soaring hymns. .. it's this wonderful swaying spirit, from the feral to the small, soft gesture, where their power lies" - Greg Buium
CADENCE
"The trio forges a bond so taut that the three voices become one collective source of inspired communication. As a result, the music washes over one in inseparable piano/bass/drums waves of intricacy. Cooper-Moore is a multi-talented artist who plays a diverse array of instruments, but in this setting with only his piano and the pwer of his associates as fuel, his abilities ring out loudly and clearly." - Frank Rubolino
VILLAGE
VOICE / *PICK*
"Like
Sun Ra, pianist and instrument maker Cooper-Moore has created his own
universe. Triptych Myth, heard to advantage on the new The Beautiful,
is a piano trio, but there's nothing else conventional about them."
+ "On The Beautiful, Cooper-Moore (shows) himself to be a pianist
with striking similarities to the sainted Herbie Nichols - his solos have
as much momentum and as much wit, and they veer into unexected areas.
Also a multi-intrumentalist and instrument maker, he's one of today's
true originals - Francis Davis
TIME OUT NEW YORK [Lead Music Feature / September 29, 2005]
"Now, with his recently formed trio Triptych Myth, Cooper-Moore has an outlet for all the narrative, dramatic and musical gifts he has honed, and he brings them to bear on the group's new album, The Beautiful." - Hank Shteamer
THE
ONION
"The group sounds great on [this] new album of graceful, fitful jazz
tilted at strange angles."
JAZZ REVIEW.com - READ
this whole review.
"The Beautiful is worth all the listening time that one can
spare." - Lyn Horton
AND,
some previous press notices on TRIPTYCH MYTH and its members:
“A Rosetta Stone that underscores the evolution of the music and
its relation to the more current musics .. Triptych Myth is possessed
of a rare combination of wide appeal, listen-ability, clarity of message,
and commitment to integrity.” - Bananafish
“One of New York's most effusive but reclusive musical geniuses,
Cooper-Moore is a one-man New Orleans jazz funeral flailing like the Grambling
State marching band across a vaudeville stage.” - Salon.com
“[Cooper-Moore is] One of the most potent musicians ever.” -
Phil Waldorf, Misra Records
“As one of those rare jacks who own the startling ability to master
as many trades as they can fit under their belts, Cooper-Moore has become
one of the East Coast creative jazz scene's most versatile and valuable
presences.” - One Final Note
“Cooper-Moore has combined humor with pain, comedy with seriousness,
agony with transcendence, one art form with another. His is a deeply resonating
blues for modern time… - Jazziz
"Tom Abbs is a force of nature on the bass and tuba." -
Time Out New York
"Whether bowing, slapping, strumming, or plucking, Tom Abbs creates
a field of energy that feeds the group."
- Cadence Magazine
"Bassist Tom Abbs cooks up a virtual mountain of polyrhythmic bedrock." - One Final Note
”Chad Taylor is an equally stunning player in this artistic marriage.
His percussion moves from stuttering to shadowboxing the beats, from the
raw and provisional to the magisterial and the elemental.” –
The Stranger
”Chad Taylor is all over his drum kit, pounding out a rhythmic base
that moves off the line into abstract territory. He uses alternate percussion
effects that turn the rhythms into shimmering echoes. With this backdrop
Taylor allows the soloist to take wing and fly consistently.” -
One Final Note
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