Jazz TRIO M at 222 Explosive/Hypnotic Enjoyed by this Critic

Saturday night, the 222 in Healdsburg brought a seasoned trio of jazz musicians; TRIO M: Myra Melford, piano, Matt Wilson, drums and Mark Dresser, bass. TRIO M have been performing together for 20 years. Their effusive enjoyment of jazz and performing with one another was palpable from the 222 Art Gallery turned intimate night club. The trio came on stage and broke into their first number which actually included a second piece without any intro. Although the relaxed atmosphere was infectious, a little more info would've benefitted listeners attempting to be attuned to contemporary improvisational works. The divergent, definitive idioms of jazz are still breaking inroads into meandering measures of jazz innovations. The first number sound like a subtle warmup on a diminutive scale from that of an orchestral tuning prior to the conductor's raised baton. Wilson on drums shook hand held "castanets" that resembled shells. This produced a pleasing clacking. He also used them to strike cymbals which he then grabbed to cut off the reverberations. Meanwhile, Melford struck several keys in a randomly seeming manner. Melford's playing style reminded me at times of Monk's; seemingly random but landing with resonate intention. As the number progressed, her solo notes morphed into multiple keys then bleed into a more complex composition. Her keyboard playing overpowered Wilson's drumming and Dresser's underlying bass playing. Major take aways for me from the evening were several unique methods each of the artists incorporated when playing their instruments. Melford used the edge of her right hand to strike 5 keys in unison while trilling on the notes with her left between each strike on the keys. Wilson also under the back of his fingers to strike cymbols and drums as if knocking on a door for a hallowed sound. Dresser's arco at a 45 degree angle downward was a unique strumming technique that resulted in more of a wind instrument aesthetic than string. Wilson spoke on behalf of the trio. Several times he was corrected by Melford or Dresser for incorrectly naming the piece or crediting the composer. "Well, as you can tell, we've done a lot or traveling and recording together," he joked to the audience. I was most intrigued with the inventive techniques and surprising flourishes of the musicians. As a pianist myself, I was most impressed with Melford's playing. The SF Chronicle described her playing as "explosive, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can make the piano stand up and do things it doesn't seem to have been designed for." With the advent of new and blending jazz styles, I'd like to be led by performers, particularly  within intimate settings, to serve audiences as informers as to what genre or style we're listening to.