Like my cd copy of “Spiritual Unity”, ESP Disk have neatly recreated the original vinyl packaging of this release; with The Byron Allen Trio’s eponymous debut shrunk down to a card cd wallet. The trio - Allen on alto sax, Ted Robinson on drums and Maceo Gilchrist on bass - recorded this album in September 1964; it has four long tracks of improvisation, equal parts restless and contemplative.

I’m nearly always drawn to the rhythm section of whatever group I’m listening to, be it King Crimson or the classic Coltrane Quartet, and the bass and drums here don’t disappoint at all. Robinson’s drumming is incredibly powerful, and increasingly dominant as the album progresses. He starts the first piece, “Time Is Past”, with a series of syncopated stops/starts, the bass joining him in this precision exercise; but following Gilchrist’s later solo section, Robinson plays a furious solo passage of his own, with a oppressive power pre-empting the likes of grindcore. This matching of sheer rhythmic force with more delicate textural playing, is echoed by the bass. Gilchrist begins the album by delicately bowing his strings in a wavering tone; before starting one of the long note runs that occur throughout the album. The second track, “Three Steps In The Right Direction”, has a long section dominated by one of these runs, with Gilchrist scurrying up and down the bass as if on a never-ending pursuit. With such a powerful rhythm engine, Allen’s sax appears - at times - rather slight and flimsy; but this disguises its true power. It dances across the bass and drums, exploring the nooks and crannies; flitting in and out and creating colourful spaces. What it might lack in shrieking power - Allen’s playing is overtly “traditional” in the sense of relying on notes, rather than extended technique - it makes up for with articulacy and precision strikes and punctuations. This swirling and twirling decoration, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes mournful, is, however, tempered at points by more brute playing; with Allen joining his cohorts in peaks of muscular power.

This is a really good album, the kind of thing that rewards careful listening. I can’t help but visualise the Trio as a large drilling juggernaut, with the drums and bass taking turns to provide the immense power needed for the machinery - whilst the other deals with the removed tons of earth - and the sax as the razor sharp teeth of the business end. Its a very strong recording, even if the ending feels a little clumsy. As a footnote, careful listening not only reveals great interplay between the trio, but also a few “clicks” on the recording itself - somewhat amusing, given the famous story of how “Spiritual Unity” was mistakenly recorded in mono.