Pendulum- Arguelles/Rainey/Formanek

Since first coming to prominence in the mid 80s with the seminal big band Loose Tubes, English saxophonist Julian Arguelles has been mining a rich seam that has yielded up music that is always creative, always personal, and now spans an impressive resume as composer, large ensemble soloist and band leader. Partita, his latest CD, is in the classic saxophone trio, an apt environment in which to savour his innate lyricism in the company of one of NYC’s most intelligent and probing rhythm sections.

Tom Rainey’s approach to the drums is both deeply musical and rhythmically engrossing, and he’s enjoyed a prolific output with landmark groups of the last two decades, from the early days of the downtown scene to his current role in groups like Tim Berne’s Big Satan. Bassist Michael Formanek moves within similar orbits and is one of the city’s emblematic musicians, an independent spirit that moves freely between recording with Elvis Costello, free music with The Maneris and piano trios with Fred Hersch.