Count Marc Cary among those musicians who are expanding the possibilities for the piano trio. It’s not that the pianist and his trio radically depart from familiar forms. Often, a simple element makes all the difference,

            Focus Trio Live 2009 documents the threesome’s concerts in the U.S. and Europe last year. Bassist David Ewell begins Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight” by droning a single note top Cary’s fairly straight reading of the melody. As Cary’s phrases grow more abstract, Ewell shifts to a vamp, never following along with the harmony. This unreleased tension instills a sense of foreboding that make the well-worn tune sound fresh.

            Other times, the musicians engage in thematic exploration. Cary’s suite of compositions titles “CD Changer” suggests a shuffling of tunes. The hurried hard-bop pacing of “Runnin’ Out of Time” plays off its title, as does the sound clip of Malcolm X at the end of each piece. “Slow Blues for MLK” uses a similar motif, with Martin Luther King Jr.’s words adding even more heft to Cary’s block-chord-heavy passages.

            Elsewhere, “KC_Bismillah Khan” seamlessly fuses Indian raga with mainstream jazz. Sameer Gupta’s opening tabla solo sets the tone for his drum work later in the piece. And Cary’s inside-the-piano effects lay the foundation for a powerfully unsettling version of Abbey Lincoln’s “My Love is You.”

            A common creative sensibility underlies this diverse material. Most of the pieces possess a dark, hypnotic quality that grows more compelling with each listen.

-John Frederick Moore