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Jason Smith
Gary Husband/Dave Carpenter

Tipping Point

MoonJune Records MJR011

Recorded live at the Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, in May 2006, this album provides a great example of what happens when you're willing to let three like-minded musicians travel where the music takes them in the moment.

Drummer-leader Jason Smith puts it perfectly: 'It's like a taffy pull ‰ we start with a shared thought then yank it in every direction we can Ø it's the risk-taking and recovery that's appealing to me. When I listen to Gary and Carp ‰ man, they sound like they're about to fall off the ledge and I'm feeding them rope ‰ and yet we always get back to one.'

The trio's material (Smith again: 'I don't need to cover the Cocteau Twins to be hip') ranges from Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields's 'The Way You Look Tonight' and Jimmy Webb's 'Up Up and Away' to Keith Jarrett's 'Star Bright' and John McLaughlin's 'Follow Your Heart', but to a large extent it's the trio's manner rather than their matter that's important, because whatever they're playing, Gary Husband (on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes), bassist Dave Carpenter and the tumbling, emphatic but surprisingly subtle drummer Jason Smith simply revel in the opportunity to stretch out, strike sparks off each other, explore possibilities

If you were forced to categorise the music that results, you'd have to source it to fusion (in its widest sense), but the freedom and vibrant energy the trio achieve at their frequent peaks put this exhilarating performance essentially beyond category. Recommended – another great release from an enterprising label.