Piano trios needn’t be moldy. More than a quarter of the innumerable piano trio recordings issued every year are commendable. Wandersphere, a new release featuring pianist Kris Davis, bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Eric McPherson under the banner of Borderlands Trio, is something else entirely. The 2020 session possesses the same sort of palpable tension and momentous sense of occasion as the landmark 1963 album Money Jungle. Davis, Crump and McPherson may not be legendary figures like Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach, but the unrelenting interest they sustain throughout 116 minutes of deep improvisation rekindles the restless spirits of the jazz icons. Davis is one of the leading lights of improvised music. Crump, best known for his collaborations with Vijay Iyer, is boundlessly imaginative. McPherson’s cerebral contributions unify their dichotomous melodic pursuits. The audience for Wandersphere may be infinitesimal, but the artistic achievement is colossal.
