Jazz in the Attic: Ryan Kauffman’s Trilogy

Trilogy began mostly by chance, but opportunity and history played their respective parts. Oddly enough, Kauffman’s first steady gig was with this exact instrumentation. As for history, the trio of saxophone, bass, and drums has long been an exciting and alternative format for improvisers to explore the Great American Songbook. Sonny Rollins is probably the primary example we think of, but artists as diverse and notable as Coltrane, Steve Coleman, Jan Garbarek, Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano, and David Liebman (to name only a few) have recorded stellar albums with trios. To Kauffman, “the music takes on a lithe, lean quality with the absence of (or freedom from!) a piano or guitar player. Add to that the unique chemistry with Steve Meashey and Chris Loser, and we feel it’s something special.”