photo by Klaus Kürvers

ROB CLUTTON TRIO

Karen Ng (Reeds)
Nick Fraser (Drums)
Rob Clutton (Double Bass, Composition) 

 

Formed in 2017, the Rob Clutton Trio released their debut album Counsel of Primaries in April, 2020. The trio plays with the relationship between improvisation and composition: the agency of each musician is in dynamic relationship with the identity of each piece. In 2022 the trio performed in Berlin and Amsterdam, resulting in the live album, Asterballoo 22, on the Rat-Drifting label, with contributions from wonderful guests Isabel Rößler and Michaël Attias.

Asterballoo 22

Rob Clutton Trio featuring Karen Ng and Nick Fraser

available on Rat-drifting https://rat-drifting.bandcamp.com/ Clutton, Ng and Fraser are some of my favourite musicians on the planet, all of whom remain greatly underrated on the international scene, most likely due to Read more
available on Rat-drifting https://rat-drifting.bandcamp.com/

Clutton, Ng and Fraser are some of my favourite musicians on the planet, all of whom remain greatly underrated on the international scene, most likely due to their somewhat under-the-radar Toronto existence, but also perhaps because their understated and unpretentious music, at least to my mind, requires a discerning audience - one that can fully appreciate the music’s subtlety, spaciousness, patience and investigative nature without the allure of a flashy in-your-face bravado.

In May of 2022, the trio made their way to Berlin, my 2nd home, where I got to hear them for the first time outside of our collective home base Toronto. As I bore witness to them presenting their music in Berlin, I recall the feeling of simply sitting quietly and letting the effortlessness and beauty of their music flow through and over me… I felt proud, and I was moved. I was moved at the time, and again upon listening to the recording of these performances. I recall hearing Clutton’s piece ‘Spa’ for the first time and was both captivated and inspired.

Sonically, this is clearly a live recording, but in the best sense of it, bringing the listener almost physically into the intimate, cozy venues where the performances took place. The addition of the track with Berlin guests Attias and Rößler, who joined the trio in the 2nd set, offers a lovely document of the community feeling that pervaded at Sowieso that night with a meeting of musicians from different, albeit connected communities. Thank you for listening to this music.

- Lina Allemano, January 2024
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“Another great live recording … speaking from a fan/listener's perspective I especially enjoy how it combines excitingly spontaneous-sounding (verging on occasionally jarring, in the very best way!) improv events with thoughtful, reflective-sounding composition.” - Craig Dunsmuir, via Josh Cole's Substack

The trio is wonderfully balanced, the soloists are fully exposed – it’s beautifully honest playing, in the manner of Lee Konitz.” - Andy Hamilton

Jazz Journal (5 stars)

"Toronto bassist and composer, Rob Clutton, has been at the forefront of Canadian creative music for decades. As a player, he is an extraordinarily sensitive collaborator and accompanist as well as a compelling soloist. His trio, featured on their exceptional 2020 debut, Counsel of Primaries, is characterised especially by his intelligent composing for two special musical partners, combining an innate spaciousness borne of the ‘pianoless trio’ format with a rich sense of structure and musical purpose. Alto saxophonist Karen Ng has a notably liquid and intrinsically melodic turn-of-phrase, and Nick Fraser’s distinct sound, drive, and adaptability make him one of Canada’s great drummers" - Scott Thomson, Guelph Jazz Festival.