Three Voices Rising in the Studio
Hart, Stańko, and O'Leary locked into a sound that feels both spare and weightless.
Levitation was recorded with Tomasz Stańko on trumpet and Mark O'Leary on guitar — a trio stripped down to essentials, each player with room to breathe and nowhere to hide. Hart had spent decades anchoring larger ensembles, from his early work with Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band through his long associations with singers like Shirley Horn and saxophonists like Stan Getz. By 2005, he'd earned the authority to lead on his own terms, and this session reflects that confidence: no unnecessary ornament, just the three of them finding what emerges when a drummer steps forward without apology.
The music hovers between post-bop conversation and something more open-ended. Hart's playing here is conversational rather than dominant — he listens as much as he propels, responding to Stańko's lean, searching trumpet lines and O'Leary's fingerpicking guitar with a touch that's almost gentle. Tracks move without rushing; there's space between notes. The result is neither a jam session nor a chamber work, but something in between: focused, deliberate, alive to chance.
This isn't Hart revisiting his greatest hits or trading on his reputation. Levitation sits among his later work as a genuine collaboration between equals, each bringing a distinct voice to the conversation. It's the sound of three musicians who know how to listen, recorded at a point in his career when that skill mattered more than any other.
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