Zed Trio - Lost Transitions

Jay Collins, Cadence Magazine

ZED TRIO (Heddy Boubaker, as, bs; David Lataillade, g; Frederic Vaudaux, d, perc) looks at improv differently. The focus on LOST TRANSITIONS (Ayler 102) is surely intensity during these ten performances. Of course, most people are going to zero in on the mighty “Zed Leppelin Crash Test,” not only for its reference to Led Zeppelin, but also, for its sheer girth with Lataillade’s shrapnel-spewing guitar underpinning Vaudaux’s clanging drums and Boubaker’s lacerating lines. The group’s initial moments may be deceptive, however, with an abstract start to “Dubai On Fire” that grows in strength as the partners traverse dense waters. For basically the entire sixty minute program, though, the group keeps the energy level in the red zone, from the bubbling fire of “Narcissique,” the oscillations of “Message Of Peace and Happiness,” the push and pull of “Lost Transitions” and the earnestness of “Hysteric Meditation.” There are few moments of relief, including the lumbering “Cruce La Frontera” featuring Boubaker’s brusque bass sax and Vaudaux’s pulse. For sure, this is definitely one that keeps the flame burning for the entire hour’s duration.