In 1970, three of Europe’s leading first-wave Avant-gardists united to form the New Jazz Trio. They personified the evolution of modern jazz into the realm of a freer more exploratory direction. German trumpeter Manfred Schoof felt at home with the exquisite simplicity of Mal Waldron as well as the cyclonic free play of Peter Brötzmann, maneuvered through the mainstream jazz currents of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band and the outré experimentation of The Global Unity Orchestra. German bassist Peter Trunk and Dutch drummer Cees See were like musical freethinkers. Trunk, especially, was lauded by his peers. Guitarist Attila Zoller stated that he was “as good as any of the best American bassists”, and German jazz guru Joachim Ernst Berendt called Trunk “the best bassist in German jazz.” Unfortunately, Trunk died in 1973, but this and MPS companion album, Page Two, chronicle the trio’s seminal music. On Page One spontaneity is the name of the game, but within the freedom there is a continual sense of form, melody, and swing. For the three, improvisation is a method of spontaneous composition. Themes appear, unconstrained, morph, return transfigured. Each piece shines with its own particular iridescence, and with its heady, joyous freedom and chamber music quality, the trio skirts the genre’s chaotic pitfalls. From the catchy rhythmic/melodic riff and hard swing of Palar, to the haunting minimalism of Cert Van, on through the rapid-fire assault of Naimed, it’s an alluring set!