2014 · Album
Now This
Recorded 2014 · ECM · Personnel: Gary Peacock (bass), Marc Copland (piano), Joey Baron (drums)
Space and Silence in a Three-Way Conversation
They leave room to breathe, asking questions instead of answering them.
Now This doesn't announce itself. It enters as a quiet thing—Gary Peacock's bass moving with deliberate weight, Marc Copland's piano offering single notes or sparse chords that seem to float, Joey Baron's drums minimal and conversational. This is a trio that plays in the gaps as much as in the sound. There's almost a classical restraint here, a feeling that every note has been earned before it's played. The pieces shift directions unexpectedly, less from conventional changes than from one musician sensing something the others are ready to explore. Peacock recorded this late in his career, and it shows in the confidence—he's not trying to prove anything, just following the logic of what these three players need in the moment. The Guardian's John Fordham captured it well: they prefer tentative exchanges and enigmatic queries to the kind of busy collective playing you'd hear in a more traditional jazz trio. For listeners accustomed to swing, drive, and clear harmonic signposting, this album demands patience. For those who've spent time with Peacock, Copland, and Baron individually, there's real captivation in hearing them work together this way. All About Jazz reviewer Karl Ackermann noted that despite the overriding thoughtfulness, it's never certain which direction the journey will take—which is exactly the point. Nothing feels predetermined. That uncertainty is where the album lives.
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