Criss Cross

Between September 18 and September 23 in 2023, drummer Bill Stewart convened bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III for their third weeklong trio engagement at the Village Vanguard, following residencies in April 2017 and in October 2018. The latter engagement transpired around the trio’s first album, Band Menu, a studio date that marked Stewart’s first leader endeavor without a chordal instrument. “I wanted to work with the open sound of the tenor trio. Not having a piano or guitar gives me the option to fill up more space with the drums or allow more space in the music. I was also thinking of the famous tenor-bass-drums recordings by Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson at the Vanguard. So I felt it was time to document the trio playing in the room.”

This second gathering of M.T.B. (titled for the surnames of Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner and Peter Bernstein, and to signify upon the late ’80s “young lion” band OTB) is an intense, focused recital that reinforces the exalted position each member holds in the 2024 jazz landscape. Everyone listens. No one overplays or goes for “house.” The ambiance is one of concentrated excellence. All in all, the session is, as the cliche goes, “all killer, no filler,” performed at a level that might have provoked Charlie Haden to respond with a hearty “Solid Jackson.” “There was a natural blend,” Bernstein says. “We all go way back, and everyone was very comfortable being around each other. One thing I like about making a record is that you’re able to spend a day with people you’ve been meaning to hang out with for a long time. It’s not just a party. You’re working, too. But that’s how we interact socially – by playing music. I was amazed. It’s 30 years after we did the first one, but everyone is relatively intact. It’s really a miracle. We’re all still here; we get to play together again.” Line up:  Brad Mehldau (piano) – Mark Turner (tenor saxophone) – Peter Bernstein (guitar) – Larry Grenadier (bass) – Bill Stewart (drums).