Trio ALL

Pianist Mark Lowrey says an improvisational recording is a snapshot of a moment in time. The moment in which this first, self-titled release from Lowrey's trio was captured — with former UMKC Conservatory classmates Zack Albetta (drums) and Ben Leifer (bass) — must have been a good time to be alive. Recorded on a single November day in 2008, this six-song, limited-run release begins with the cascading, autumnal chords and gently off-kilter waltz of Mulgrew Miller's "Dienda" and slips slowly into a blue mood on Leifer's eight-and-a-half-minute composition "Time Well Spent," during which the upright bassist takes his considerable solo chops for a good long walk. It's one of three Leifer originals on the record, together representing probably his last local output before this young buck took off for New York and the life of a professional jazzer. His trio mates are no slouches, either. Albetta's Latin-flavored arrangment of McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance" simmers, and Lowrey's choppy-then-smooth take on "My Favorite Things" is pleasing in its deliberately scattershot sense of rhythm. But the real highlight is Lowrey's arrangment of local folk musician Barclay Martin's "Ghost Boat," which moves from a grandiose jazz-pop verse to a playful bluegrass break on the chorus, complete with rockabilly slapped bass. It kinda makes you wish it were autumn. Contemplate the seasons at Trio ALL's CD-release party Tuesday, May 5, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Jardine's.