We'll get to the idea of pop covers in a bit, but we'll lead with our biggest disappointment: This record doesn't move us. It sounds like something that could have been recorded in a side room during a benefit dinner in any city in America, or the kind of music typically made in support of similarly languid social events. Not that every studio album needs to have crackling, live energy. We can get behind a record that strives for something relaxing and contemplative, but we don't believe The Trio of Oz was actually going for that vibe. Hakim and Rachel Z are accompanied by Maeve Royce on acoustic bass, and there are plenty of songs like "King of Pain" where Royce is really digging on those strings and creating a solid groove. "Angry Chair," originally an Alice in Chains song, is the best example of energetic playing on the record, complete with rhythmic punches from Rachel Z and low bass rambles that follow the main melodic line. Omar Hakim swings with complete fluency on this song and others, proving that he's a capable jazz drummer and (no surprise) a human metronome. His understated, light touch on the kit reminds us quite a bit of his Weather Report predecessor, Peter Erskine. Rachel Z isn't even an ersatz Zawinul, but we'd buy her as influenced by Hakim's partner-in-crime during Sting's "Dream of the Blue Turtles" period, Kenny Kirkland. Kirkland in turn traces his roots back to giants of modal playing like McCoy Tyner, and we suspect Rachel Z would claim a similar influence. The band's cover of Depeche Mode's "In Your Room" is a mashup of modal vamping and saccharine pop, to the detriment of both.
This particular attempt to combine disparate influences makes for a bad production. The Trio of Oz would have done a million times better by focusing on actual jazz standards, which would sound very different after passing through the trio's modern sensibilities. There's too little creative interpretation at work here, just an excuse to play a melody, solo over a vamp for a while, and claim inspiration from these pop icons. If you want to hear true inspiration, listen to John Zorn covering Ornette Coleman, or Hal Willner's tribute to anybody, but especially Thelonious Monk. Heck, just check out fellow Weather Report collaborator (and the subject of a tribute by Rachel Z herself) Joni Mitchell, recording Mingus tunes with both incredible license and attention to detail. The playing on The Trio of Oz is solid, but truly unremarkable. Rachel Z is all right hand in her playing, with lazy comping that rarely moves out of her chordal comfort zone. Most of her voicings throughout the record don't show a wide range of harmonic thinking, leaving an impression of Vince Guaraldi covering McCoy Tyner covering famous pop stars. Hakim does a bit better, but also plays things way too safe. For two musicians that have equal footing in the worlds of pop and jazz, The Trio of Oz sounds incredibly tame. We prefer the more raucous and indelicate handling of cover songs by a band like The Bad Plus, where we at least feel like the spirit of the original music conveys. Audiences can quibble over interpretations and covers, but they know good energy. Artists tend to hate listening to their old material, for fear of being overly critical of past flaws. In this case, we'll suggest that Hakim refer back to the raw energy he brought to the stage with Sting all those years ago, and try to channel some of that for his next outing with The Trio of Oz.