A Gorgeous Dispatch From the Extended SML-iverse
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, and Sam Wilkes make the most of negative space on “Frica.”
You have to be brave to improvise in a trio with no drums. Everything you play is exposed, without a churning rhythm to drown out false moves or keep a listener grooving along while you gather your thoughts. You might be tempted to fill the empty space with lots of notes, but that goes against the whole point of the sparse arrangement. Doing it well requires a nearly impossible combination of patience and decisive action. Play too much, too soon, and risk toppling the delicate edifice you and your collaborators are constructing. Play too little, too late, and the silence might swallow you.
This is the fraught territory that guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, saxophonist Josh Johnson, and bassist Sam Wilkes explore on “Frica,” the lead single from their forthcoming album Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes, out March 14 on International Anthem.
