Steve Swell Trio

Steve Swell Trio: Atmospheels

by Derek Taylor
November 1, 1999

Don’t let the stripped down instrumentation of this trio fool you. These three players make music of such breadth and scope that it often sounds as if there were twice their number. Their playing is both visceral and vigorous and they communicate an urgent energy barely controlled by the confines of the tunes. Grassi is a one man percussive powerhouse able to pound out elemental cadences or just as agilely sculpt complex polyrhythms for his partners to play atop. Connell’s ...