Two Trios and the Mysteries of Mind-Expansion

Scientists have puzzled over the mysterious force that’s behind the expansion of the universe. They recognize it’s there but can’t detect it, and they’ve given it the name dark energy, because it’s omnipresent yet invisible. To make an analogy, a similar thing happens in creative endeavors - there’s an enigmatic force that drives invention. Very often, musical trios tap into this power. Something about bringing three skilled collaborators together makes these combos especially intriguing.

This month we highlight two new Right Brain Records albums from trios that find the magic: Komorebi, by Vickie Dodd, James Hoskins and Farrell Lowe, and Avant! by Gli Autopiloti, featuring Amy Denio, Roberto Fega and Adriano Lanzi.

Leaving terra firma is an apt metaphor for Gli Autopiloti, Italian for “the Autopilots.” Amy is a renowned vocalist and instrumentalist (saxophone, clarinet, accordion, etc.), a solo artist and member of venerable bands The Tiptons and Kultur Shock. Adriano is a guitar and electronics performer with a radical resume spanning world fusion, experimental minimalism, dreamscapes and film scores. Roberto is an expressive experimentalist who has worked at intersections of artforms, using woodwinds, sampling and electronics to create sound with more collaborators than we can list.

One damp, wintry night in December, 2022, the three friends got together to do a live set of improvised music at the Boogie Club in Rome. They recorded their set in the packed club. Though they’d been “weaving a web of rhythmic whimsy and unknowable sounds” for many years, this became the trio’s first album. Avanti! captures the live energy of a memorable performance.

Now, let’s shift our attention to pristine and frigid Boulder, Colorado a couple of weeks later…

Vickie Dodd, James Hoskins and Farrell Lowe are no strangers to RBR listeners. Vickie and James made a duo album called Found Sound in 2019. Vickie is a vocal improviser like no other. A sound healer by trade, she draws inspiration in from bodies around her in the moment. She’s turned this into a creative tool, recording and performing widely with a wide range of artists. She’s also featured on the Edge City Collective avant-garde jazz album Cosmosongs. James is a virtuosic cellist (among other instruments) who’s bridged the worlds of classical, jazz, free improv and world music. He’s a huge part of Spontanea’s acclaimed albums Chromasonic and Quintaphonic, and one-third of the world fusion supergroup Ping Pong Pang (which includes Amy Denio, BTW). Farrell is an experimental guitar luminary, with a remarkable list of solo and collaborative projects, including the prolific free improv quartet SeFa LoCo.

The three have known each other for over 25 years yet, like Gli A., had never recorded as a trio. They decided to change that in an impromptu studio session, agreeing only to turn on the mics and let the music emerge. Komorebi is the result. The trio’s unique voices weave together seamlessly, ebbing in flowing in directions that are somehow both organic and otherworldly.

Are these albums jazz? World fusion? Acoustic? Electronic? Experimental? Yes to all yet, at their essence, these trios are simply themselves. I recommend you take time to explore these six artists’ work and feel the mystery yourself.

For more where this came from, visit Right Brain Records.