Heart Music
George Crotty Trio
Independent (georgecrotty.com)
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Having had the good fortune of recently seeing cellist George Crotty’s latest album release of his trio’s Heart Music in concert, I was excited to find listening to the recording just as engaging as the live performance. The Toronto native has been travelling and touring for many years, picking up his heavy skills in jazz and many music languages of the world, and this album reflects on the wide diversity of the entire trio which includes John Murchison on bass and Jeremy Smith on percussion.
Crotty has many collaborations in his credits including the Brooklyn Raga Missive, the National Arab Orchestra, and years of travelling and studies of Hindustani raga, European jazz, and left hand pizzicato to build the powerhouse of chops he has at his disposal. The trio is unique in its combination of jazz, classical, Arabic, Irish, flamenco and music theatre, and each of the tracks on this album is equally unique. Crotty plays the cello in this configuration standing, allowing him to move and lead freely.
From the opening Bandish, based on an evening raga, and Heart Music and The Task at Hand, both of which use exceptionally intricate left-hand pizzicato, we experience the power of Crotty’s technique on the cello. The spooky intro to Twelfth House gives way to a jazz-infused exploration of dreams. The following track A Game features playful episodes within the group, and the cinematic Cigarettes at Sunrise includes Crotty in duet with himself in a live cello loop. The album closes with my favourite track Saturn Returns, a complex expansion of chords in parallel fifths on the cello, polyrhythms, and a group improvisation showcasing the entire trio, a solid brew of skill and inspiration from around the world.
