It’s difficult categorizing the new disc “Three Fervent Travelers” from the young string trio Time for Three, on E1 Entertainment. Is it blue grass or country, jazz improvisation or some new kind of classical? One thing’s for certain. It’s fabulous.
Time for Three is made up of violinists Zachary De Pue and Nick Kendall and bassist Ranaan Meyer. They started improvising together in the halls of the Curtis Institute about eight years ago and have given hundreds of concerts across the country. In New York’s Capital Region, they’ve appeared several time at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, most recently with the Philadelphia Orchestra a blue grass-infused concerto written for them by Jennifer Higdon who got to know them in their days at Curtis (and who won the Pulitzer Prize in April). (8/23/08 Times Union review)
American vernacular styles dominate the new disc, which concludes with two popular cuts: Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” followed by “The Orange Blossom Special.” The remaining selections are all original, with writing credits mostly going to Meyer. Whatever the source material though, everything seems to emerge from a quick-thinking improvisational style. What’s more, the lively string playing is so rich and sophisticated that there’s no mistaking it for back roads hillbilly music.
“Three Fervent Travelers” is further evidence of a fresh new strain of American classical music that’s already occupied by Mark O’Connor and Daniel Bernard Roumain. I can’t decide which is more invigorating — the griping quasi-improvised music of these artists or the fact that they’re connecting with audiences. Just keep it coming.
