Different Clocks

about this album

Tim Daisy and Aram Shelton have been playing together for over a decade, and they have an affinity for the trio format. In Dragons 1976, they and bassist Jason Ajemian used sturdy tunes and an impetuous, road-tested chemistry to put across a soul-steeped extension of the music proposed by Ornette Coleman’s similarly configured mid-1960s ensemble. After Shelton moved to one coast and Ajemian the other, they all went on to other projects, sometimes working with each other. But while Steel Bridge Trio looks a lot like Dragons 1976, it’s a different endeavor. Shelton and Daisy have changed, and Safa Shokari’s bass playing is more precise and less heart-on-sleeve than Ajemian’s. Daisy has spent plenty of time in the interim leading and composing for groups, some of which are more rooted in chamber music than foundational free jazz. He’s also picked up a vibraphone to add to his drum kit. Shelton has spent the last decade as part of the Bay Area musical community, studying at Mills College, and adding bass clarinet to his alto saxophone. The relationships between the players are situated in the present and don’t recreate any particular past, either personal or remembered. Daisy composed the album’s six tunes, and with mallets at his disposal he is often a lead melodic and timbral voice. It sounds like some post-production manipulation has been directed at his vibes, allowing them to take on a grainy quality. But he never lets the instrument’s presence overwhelm. Time has worked

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