In Montreal

In Montreal, a concert recording from 1989, offers a live echo of the exquisitely balanced trio of Haden, Gismonti and Garbarek that made the Magico and Folk Songs albums a couple of decades ago. It features two pieces from the repertoire of the trio--Gismonti's gently waltzing "Palhaco" (Clown) (which comes dressed in quite a bit of the blues), and Haden's gravely beautiful "Silence". Both participants are in tremendous form. Gismonti particularly is nothing short of sensational. Whether on 10-string guitar or piano, instruments which he shifts between regularly, his lines are shot through with both a propulsive, cascading energy and a limpid, dynamically rich and wide-ranging lyricism: sample the opening "Salvador" and "Maracatu" for representative examples. Haden flows in and out of focus with typical sensitivity, contributing a variety of solos as distilled as they are questing. The whole constitutes one of the most enjoyable duet recordings for a long time, and leads to two common thoughts: why on earth did this music take so long to see the light of day? and maybe, just maybe, we might get to hear a record of the Magico trio live one day. In the meantime, we can relish this rich and rare treasure from the past. --Michael Tucker

1. Salvador - 7:36

2. Maracatú - 9:21

3. First Song - 6:28

4. Palhaço - 9:19

5. Silence - 9:48

6. Em Familia - 10:03

7. Lôro - 7:31

8. Frevo - 6:43

9. Don Quixote - 12:02