I’m not really sure if I would get along with pianist and composer Frank Carlberg. In the liner notes of his latest release, Carlberg reminisces about his youthful fascination with amusement parks, carnivals, parades, magic shows, etc.; basically several places full of creepy clowns. However, what is most important is that at the amusement park in his hometown of Helsinki, Carlberg recalls a band named Tivoli Trio that provided the music while acts performed. Now many years later he has recorded Tivoli Trio with John Hebert on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums on a collection of 13 tracks inspired by these remembrances from his childhood.
Instrumentally this release is excellent, as is to be expected from this collection of musicians. Tivoli Trio is a modern sounding jazz collection and has been compared to artists such as Bill Frissell, Steve Lacy, and Jason Moran.
By no means would I consider myself a jazz aficionado, and generally when I do listen to jazz it tends to be classical. Usually I find releases like Tivoli Trio to be a little challenging and disorderly for my tastes, but it’s not the case with what Frank Carlberg does here. While some moments are a bit “out there” for a casual jazz listener like me, I found that Tivoli Trio was balanced nicely in its variety. It is spread out adequately in the longer and shorter tracks as well as the more conventional and less so. Outside of a few creepy samples that I really didn’t care for, this is a release that I feel is accessible for jazz listeners on many levels. Anyone with an interest in jazz should give Tivoli Trio a try and there it really has a little something for everyone.
Key Tracks: Rumble Mumble, Bill’s Hat, Harlequin
Kevin Kozel- Sr. MuzikReviews.com Staff
July 25, 2010
