Paul Motian Trio 2000 + Two - Live At The Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (Winter & Winter, 2007) ***½

If you like stellar musicianship, post bop leaning on free jazz, then is one is for you. The band consists of Paul Motian on drums, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone and Larry Grenadier on bass, with Greg Osby on alto and Masabumi Kikuchi on piano, acting as the "plus two". The musicians need no introduction : Motian has been the inventor of a drumming style which has become common now, but for which he is still unequalled : accentuating rhythm and music, rather than acting as the metronome of the band, and which he still demonstrates to the full on this CD. The music itself is not really ground-breaking, but the interplay, the technical capabilities and emotional expressiveness are of a constant high level. The audience is very attentive and enthusiastic. (One minor aspect : if you don't like Jarrett's humming along when he plays, you will also not like Kikuchi doing the same on the more quiet parts, despite the excellent quality of his playing).