About

The members of Trio East met on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in 2001 and have been continuously active on their own while forming the nucleus of many other projects, including the Eastman Jazz Quartet led by Harold Danko and sessions with Rich Perry and Bill Dobbins. For this recording, the trio is joined Eastman colleague Danko on piano and frequent West Coast collaborator Larry Koonse on guitar. This studio date is complimented by a concert performance by the same group at the Eastman Theatre that is documented on the recording Live+2 at Kilbourn Hall (Sons of Sound SSPCD034). Together, the contrasting live and studio sessions constitute a master class in jazz composition, instrumental technique, and improvisation.

Special Guests

HAROLD DANKO is well recognized from long-term associations with many jazz legends, including Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz, and Woody Herman. He is also a band leader, composer, and solo pianist. As a leader he has been featured at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. Harold has been on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music since 1998 and served as Jazz Studies Chair from 2002 to 2011.

LARRY KOONSE began his career touring with the John Dankworth quartet in support of Cleo Laine. He became co-leader of the L.A. Jazz Quartet and has also toured with Mel Tormé, Bob Brookmeyer, John Patitucci, Karrin Allyson, Luciana Souza, Natalie Cole, Bob Mintzer, and Peter Erskine. Larry has been on the faculty of the California Institute of the Arts since 1990 and is currently a member of Billy Child’s sextet and a trio led by Tierney Sutton that includes Hubert Laws.

Reviews

CD OF THE WEEK. We who love jazz are fortunate to not only have a great annual jazz festival, but to also have several fine musicians based here because they teach at the prestigious Eastman School of Music.

Four of those talents are part of a superb new CD: For the Love, from Trio East. The trio is trumpeter Clay Jenkins, bassist Jeff Campbell and drummer Rich Thompson. On this album, the trio becomes a quintet, with the addition of pianist Harold Danko and guitarist Larry Koonse. (West Coaster Koonse is the only musician not on the Eastman faculty.)

The disc is an impressive studio set of originals, beautifully played and improvised by five talented musicians. Interestingly, a live version of some of the same material is also available on another recent disc, Live+2 at Kilbourn Hall, which makes it fun to compare and contrast the studio versus in-concert performances.

-- Jack Garner, Democrat & Chronicle, February 12, 2016