Denver-based trumpeter-composer Joshua Trinidad makes a strikingly original statement on his RareNoise Records debut, In November. Recorded in Giske, Norway, this highly evocative trio outing features the adventurous Norwegian guitarist-composer and ECM recording artist Jacob Young and drummer Stale Liavik Solberg, a central figure on Oslo’s improvising music scene. Brimming with deep and winding lyricism, Trinidad’s elegiac seventh album as a leader is a compelling mix of bold long tones on trumpet, atmospheric guitaristry, fluid melodic invention and daring group improv, all delivered with rare authority by the three intrepid improvisers. From the minor key rubato opener “Beside” to the melancholy soundscape Bell (Hymn) to a darkly entrancing The Attic and the stirring title track, Trinidad and his empathetic crew of deep listeners show respect toward space and silence on these spellbinding noirish numbers.
Young, whose principal teacher was the great jazz guitarist Jim Hall and who also took lessons with guitar great John Abercrombie, switches from edgy wah-wah inflected statements on electric guitar (Bedside, Feathers) to gently introspective nylon string acoustic tones on soothing numbers like Kin, Morning Flight and Poem.
Solberg, a remarkably interactive drummer, plays sensitive colorist on the kit on the minimalist Bell (Hymn), the mournful rubato number Bell (Lullaby) and the spacious title track, then provides a solid backbeat on the urgent, rock-fueled closer Torreon, named for the town in Mexico where Trinidad’s family came from. The trumpeter blows with burnished tones and relaxed restraint over the top on the eleven stirring tracks.
