Marty Ehrlich’s Trio Exaltation

Images of Time

 Sunnyside

Woodwind ace Marty Ehrlich has led several high profile trios since 1984 but has recently spent much of his time in larger combos or orchestras. Yet, having established his Trio Exaltation who had their first self-titled release in 2018, Ehrlich again taps his same two trio mates who, together with Ehrlich, were part of Andrew Hill’s Sextet. Thus, bassist John Hébert and drummer Nasheet Waits reunite with Ehrlich on Images of Time, an album which reflects and evokes Hill’s music and is dedicated to Hill’s widow, Joanne Robinson III. Throughout these nine compositions, seven by Ehrlich and two from Hill, Erhlich plays his trademark alto, switching to tenor on one track.

The session begins with Erhlich’s original, “Sometimes, This Time” with the leader’s lyrical alto surfing above the driving bass and adventurous drums. As the piece builds, Ehrlich’s improvisations grow fiercer over the tight underpinning.  Erhlich plays in a call and response way himself, the higher register alternating with the lower until Waits, heavily using his toms, delivers a thunderous solo. The trio then turns their attention to a staple in their repertoire, Hill’s “Dusk.” It’s a brooding take, punctuated by a descending bass vamp.  Again Erhlich’s lines are short, conversational phrases as if calling Hill into the discussion.The interplay on this piece does indicate a familiarity that only comes with playing the piece regularly. The trio gorgeously renders, the other Hill piece, the ballad titular track as Ehrlich’s sustained lines just linger in the air, setting the listener into a dreamy, or at least reflective state of mind.

The opposite effect occurs in “Twelve for Black Arthur,” a portrait of the late innovative altoist Black Arthur Blythe wherein Ehrlich purposely mimics Blythe’s phrasing and styling as Hébert and Waits weigh in with their own improvisations. “Variations on a Vamp” features a declarative drum intro with Erhlich alternating sustained lines with inspired improvisations and even more ferocity than in the opener. We hear tight connectivity especially between Erhlich and Waits, which become further illuminated in the two duets that follow in “Conversation I” and in the closer, “Conversation II.”

On the rubato ballad “As It Is” Ehrlich accentuates the bluesy and spiritual aspects of Ornette Coleman’s songs, given space at the end to blow unaccompanied. “This Space, This Time” features Erhlich’s only turn on tenor, providing little direction to his trio mates except to instruct them ‘to paint a blank canvas” as the piece unfolds. The overall tonality, given that Ehrlich mostly stays in the lower register, is in stark contrast to most of the tracks. The piece sounds anything but composed, instead an improvised journey that reflects the acute listening among the three musicians.

Within the context of the album, there is little distinction between composition and freewheeling, a testament to the talents of these three players, who have only furthered their techniques and approach from working in Hill’s sextet twenty years ago. Remember those great Blue Note Andrew Hill albums from the ‘60s, certainly Point of Departure which featured Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis, and Tony Williams. Ehrlich seems to have adopted the spirit of Dolphy, thereby keeping Hill’s legacy alive on Images of Time.

– Jim Hynes

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