[AUM035]


Cooper-Moore: piano
Tom Abbs: bass
Chad Taylor: drums


"As a master of several homemade instruments, Cooper-Moore’s piano work is often overshadowed on his recordings, but in the context of Triptych Myth, it’s given the exclusivity that it deserves. Though it’s impossible—and irrelevant—to pin down specific influences, the ghosts of Herbie Nichols and early Cecil Taylor hover over the group’s second full-length recording, one that expands upon the promise of its debut in terms of both musicianship and sonic fidelity. Indeed, The Beautiful is so aptly titled, it’s difficult to tell whether it’s meant as a gesture of tremendous understatement or simply plainspoken truth; either way, in a surprisingly good year for piano trios, it still towers above its peers as a definitive treatise on the subject." –Scott Hreha, One Final Note

"A deeply affecting album of piano-driven interplay that seamlessly spans a range of jazz genres without a hint of trepidation or a false step. Receptors and communicators, Cooper-Moore, Tom Abbs and Chad Taylor have found ways to break away from established structures and patterns to create a work of boldness and beauty."
–Michael McCaw, All About Jazz

"What's refreshing about Cooper-Moore's outside-in approach is the way it embraces uncommon variety. "Pooch," an elegy for the late bassist Wilber Morris, is a gentle theme with gospel flourishes whose reflective tone is offset by Taylor's dazzling percussive display—imagine French composer Erik Satie sitting in with bebop master Max Roach. The title track ("Frida K. the Beautiful"), originally penned for the stage, likewise juxtaposes languid stretches of lyricism with sudden bursts of fireworks. Elsewhere, the avant-garde vigor the musician is known for is translated into boppish rural reveries ("Poppa's Gin in the Chicken Feed") and delicate chamber pieces ("Robina Pseudoacacia"). Throughout the disc, Triptych Myth thrives on its own group dynamic. The trio functions neither as an ad-hoc jam outfit nor as an over-baked concept act. Instead, The Beautiful heralds an increasingly rare and welcome thing in jazz: a great working band." –Steve Dollar, Time Out Chicago

"Like Sun Ra, pianist and instrument maker Cooper-Moore has created his own universe. Triptych Myth, heard to advantage on The Beautiful, is a piano trio, but there's nothing else conventional about them." + "On this album, Cooper-Moore shows himself to be a pianist with striking similarities to the sainted Herbie Nichols - his solos have as much momentum and as much wit, and they veer into unexpected areas. He's one of today's true originals."
–Francis Davis, Village Voice

"On its second disc, Tripytch Myth makes fire music that just as often melts into sweet soaring hymns. It's this wonderful swaying spirit, from the feral to the small, soft gesture, where their power lies"
–Greg Buium, DownBeat


In March of 2005, AUM Fidelity joined forces with Cooper-Moore and his extraordinary trio at the time, Triptych Myth. This was the first result – a tremendous album of work exquisitely captured live in the studio a few weeks after the agreement was signed.

The Beautiful ranges from gorgeously melodic (heart-breaking and re-building) new songs from Cooper-Moore, tone-poem explorations of the now, new definitions of swing, excursions into energy music that will confound pre-conceived notions, New American Folktales waiting for the New America to be born, and cinematic colorations that carve sound into mountains. All True.

Cooper-Moore played piano as a child prodigy in churches near his birthplace in the Piedmont region of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. His performance roots in the realm of avant jazz music date to the NYC Loft Jazz era in the early/mid-70s. His first group was the collective trio Apogee with David S. Ware and drummer Marc Edwards. In more recent times, he was/remains a foundational/core member of William Parker’s In Order To Survive quartet. He is a composer of the highest beauty order, a designer and builder of musical instruments, and has often times been referred to in reverent tones as a musical genius.

Chad Taylor’s distinct voice and distinguished rhythmic/tonal vocabulary has been heard to great effect in performance with musicians representing widely varied schools from Fred Anderson to John Zorn. He has also recorded or collaborated with Tortoise, Isotope 217, Sam Prekop, Stereolab, Mouse on Mars and Jim O’Rourke, and is a core member of the Chicago Underground Duo, Trio, Quartet and Orchestra.

Tom Abbs’ large buoyant tone, versatility, and depth as a player led him to work with Butch Morris, Charles Gayle, Roy Campbell, Jemeel Moondoc, Billy Bang and many others. His rich tonal vocabulary and flexible rhythmic firmament are fully featured here. He later went on to be a founding partner in the Northern Spy recording label.