Francesco Trio Contemporary American Piano Trios Volume 2 CD

The Francesco Trio performs works by Gunther Schuller, Ursula Mamlok, Olly Wilson, Mel Powell and Robert Helps. If there is a theme to this second disc of contemporary American piano trios by the Francesco Trio, it is of independence and new directions, of composers who have taken their influences and then gone their own way. This idea is especially prevalent in Helps Trio, which marks a transition toward lightness and transparency in contemporary music from the 60s forward. Time--in a rhythmic and structural sense--links the works by Mamlock and Wilson, and jazz influences pervade Schullers Trio and, while they are less obvious, also exist in Powells Piano Trio 94.Selections include: Piano Trio (Gunther Schuller), Panta Rhei: Time in Flux (Ursula Mamlok), Trio (Olly Wilson), Piano Trio 94 (Mel Powell), Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano (Robert Helps)