George Flynn: Trinity

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

Recent articles (1,629 total)

Published: March 1, 2000

Chicago based composer/pianist George Flynn flexes quite a bit of muscle throughout the solo piano performances contained within this 2-Disc set, as the pieces titled, “Kabal” and “Wound” were originally issued in 1987 on LP format for the Atlantic Records subsidiary, “Finnadar Records”. Flynn, who holds the - Chair of Music at DePaul University’s School of Music - authored the compositions which comprise Trinity between 1968 and 1993, while the pianist consummated the project in 1999.

At times, these solo piano recitals seem improvised and to some extent may inadvertently parallel some of the investigations found within similar bodies of work by pianists such as Fred Van Hove and/or Cecil Taylor. Yet Flynn’s incredibly complex themes and motifs are for the most part, a source of amazement! During the course of these performances, Flynn may subliminally be paying a bit of homage to the contemporary classical movement yet has a predilection for jazz voicings, sweeping arpeggios, flailing left hand-right coordination coupled with an angular and often ferocious attack. On several occasions, the pianist is seemingly deconstructing pre-conceived frameworks or perhaps fragmenting classical compositional form and structure as the end results prove to be thoroughly convincing if not mesmerizing. Needless to state, Flynn is a music scholar of the highest order as many of these motifs and mini-arrangements would probably be nightmarish to annotate. In summary, Flynn’s Trinity is a very impressive outing as intelligence and imagination run rampant throughout these striking creations .........* * * *

Southport website: www.chicagosound.com

Style: Modern Jazz