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Steve Lacy Three
Live Lugano 1984, First Visit
ezz-thetics 110
On September 24, 1984, Steve took the stage for a live performance in Lugano, Switzerland, that found him in an unusual and arresting trio setting. Joining him for the seventy-three-minute concert were acoustic guitarist Barry Wedgle and bassist J.J. Avenel, with whom he traversed eight of his original compositions. The threesome opens with “Slumber,” a measured tune built on a few different short motives. While Lacy’s masterful ability to generate and develop one idea and permutation right after another is just about a given, the most notable aspect of this piece, and the concert as a whole, is the relationship and stance between Lacy and his band mates. As Lacy makes his way through a long sequence of winding lines, Wedgle moves from supporting or echoing Lacy’s shapes to seeming to ignore him altogether. Arpeggios, strummed chords or single notes, rapid fire flourishes, angular phrases that sound almost out of place – is Wedgle acting as a combatant, generating tension to motivate Lacy, or simply offering a counterview? He is just contrarian enough to not be malicious. No matter though, Lacy does Lacy, forging on. By the third tune, “Aloud,” Wedgle has solidified his accompany-only-when-necessary role and quickly developed an uncanny hookup with Avenel. The piece has designs on being an easy laidback swinger, but Wedgle and Avenel take another tack almost as soon as the head is finished: Wedgle strums chords in between the spaces of Avenel’s lines, which rarely sit still for long. The pair are a polyrhythm powerhouse and somehow are simultaneously in and out of time with each other as they move into and then out of Lacy’s orbit and back again.
“They Say,” “Heaven,” “Train Going By,” and “The Eye” are drawn from Lacy’s larger work, Futurities, in which the songs were set to Robert Creeley’s poetry and accompanied by dancers and the work of visual artist Kenneth Noland. Here, the four pieces are played consecutively with just the slightest pause between them. Where Wedgle and Avenel resisted the urge to slip into a comfortable swing pulse on “Aloud,” “They Say” features some walking bass and a few cheeky straight eighth guitar lines, on top of which Lacy jabs, feints, and blows some stern long tones. “Heaven” is about as light and lyrical as the title might suggest, and “Train Going By” is just as aptly named. The trio rides a helter-skelter head in a rough and ready 12/8 and then settles into a brisk march. As the tempo increases, each player takes on a slightly different view of where the meter is, and the train slowly goes off the rails. Lacy becomes slightly unhinged as Wedgle strums and picks hard on his lower strings and Avenel thumps and thwaps away. On “The Eye” Lacy focuses on long held notes, shaping, twisting, and manipulating his tone while Wedgle curiously, and quite expertly, unfurls a number of Flamenco style figures.
Steve Lacy © 2025 Laurence Svirchev
The evening closes with a surprise, as the first third of “Cliches” is dominated by Avenel on either a very resonant and rattly mbira or perhaps balafon. He lays down a hypnotic, loose triple time feel. Lacy slots right into the groove and Wedgle joins Avenel’s steady ostinato. It’s a swirling wash of rhythm and melody that comes in and out of phase. Completely enchanting. Avenel returns to the bass while Lacy channels his inner Ayler, unleashing a barrage of chirps, chortles, squeals, and duck calls.
Considering this is a live recording, the sound quality is fine. Things get tricky with the instrumentation, however. The mix is tilted a little heavy toward Lacy and it would have been nice if Wedgle was more present. His affinity for the higher end of his guitar, a somewhat metallic tone, and his generally light touch probably prevented him from competing with the unwavering power and presence of Lacy’s soprano. His guitar’s high, brittle notes on “Flakes” barely cut through the mix. The trio’s instrumentation creates a singular timbral blend, but I can’t help but think that it obscured a good portion of Wedgle’s inspired playing and his interaction with Avenel. Some of the best moments of the evening are those where the pair is most easily heard, such as on their formidable duo feature on “They Say.” This is to say, as good as Wedgle and Avenel are together, throw Lacy on top and there is much more music to find and listen for on this single date than one might encounter in a multidisc set from another less rigorous ensemble. Unorthodox and at times hard to parse? Sure. But, it’s this break from convention that invites repeated plays. The more I listened, the more I wanted to hear. As they say, always leave them wanting more.
–Chris Robinson
