I have had the good fortune of working with Henry Fraser and Jason Nazary for a decade in various constellations. I consider them two of the most versatile, accomplished, and exciting musicians on their instruments working today; people who have expanded the grammar of those instruments. They are also, for what it’s worth, two of my closest friends.

When, in 2022, I found myself writing music for a saxophone/bass/drums trio, calling them was a foregone conclusion. We had spent years playing compositions in my previous group Bloar, which featured the three of us and the great guitarist Andrew Smiley. Despite the considerable aesthetic shift, I knew from our shared history that Jason and Henry would illuminate aspects of the pieces that were unseen to me, with pen and paper in hand — that they would help shape the gestalt of the sound I was after.

Around the time of this trio’s inception, I was lucky enough to forge a relationship with Sisters in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn which allowed the band to log many invaluable hours in front of a crowd.

Plays Quarter Notes and Other Notes is comprised of six pieces, with varying compositional approaches. “For Terrance Gore,” the oldest of the batch, is also likely the most conventional – an uptempo piece with a motive principally based on a 16th note pattern, which then follows the standard “head/solo/head” form. Its tempo and duration were inspired by the stunning speed and athleticism of its dedicatory namesake, in particular during his stint in the latter half of the 2022 season with the New York Mets.

“arunthru,” the newest piece (written a week before the recording), maintains a steady form from the bass and drums throughout. While the saxophone lines are rhythmically independent, they utilize similar pitch content. The independence of the parts creates surprising – almost polyrhythmic – aspects in the music, which change in each iteration as a consequence of the varied phrasing from the saxophone.

This independence of tempi also rears its head in “Yakker,” in which the bass and drums play the same line as the saxophone, but at a slower tempo. This simple idea of tempo independence is one I’d like to take further, as these two pieces do not fully explore its implications. This isn’t exactly the forum for intense self-criticism (of which there is no shortage) but this is what I see as the compositional road ahead.

The phrase lengths within “Wells” were derived from a numbering system that I cooked up and have since forgotten (make a rule, break a rule, forget about it – as I think Paul Schrader or someone said once.) It does however hinge on the use of the E Major scale, which concludes the initial line and is then used as an improvisational springboard. The latter half of the piece was an attempt at a ballad. In a way though, the irreverence with which we played the end is illustrative of things I’d always wanted – a lack of preciousness and diminished fealty to the page. Here, utilizing the compositions are treated as material to be toyed with, more than things to be subservient to. This is something I’ve felt successful with in my solo music, but which has been harder to achieve in group settings.

That loose approach is taken to a new extreme in “Vatican Thirds,” – almost completely obfuscating the written material, with changes in register and rhythm. This iteration chiefly serves as a vehicle for Henry’s adroit arco work and as a respite from the more dense material.

“Eephus” is based on three independent parts, somewhat austerely composed. The general shape and rhythmic figure of the saxophone and the bass glissandi are the most salient aspects of the A section, with the sputtering drums – initially conceived as triplets of various tempi –morphing constantly. The duo B section is something I hope to expand upon, with the dynamic markings continuing to grow. As it stands, it functions as a curious valedictory to the album.

“PQNAON” doesn’t fail on its own terms, and doesn’t exactly fail vis-a-vis my future hopes for trio music, but does represent what is hopefully another firm step towards a music I’m beginning to concretize. I take solace in my growth as a composer even since Implicatures (rec 2022, released 2023, Astral Spirits with Tom Rainey and Chris Lightcap) and am inspired by how this trio has coalesced and our future aims as a group.

-Sam Weinberg, January 2024 – New York