(2021) Desertion Trio - Numbers Maker


Review:
Nick Millevoi had started up his Desertion Trio sometime in the mid-2010’s as a vehicle for spaghetti western motifs, Dick Dale riffs and folk-rock melodies, a far cry from the experimental bent this guitarist is generally known for. His third Desertion Trio album Numbers Maker includes more of that avant-garde side of Millevoi. Desertion Trio’s two prior releases were neither truly trios; Jamie Saft added keyboards on Midtown Tilt and Ron Stabinsky did the same for Twilight Time. Kevin Shea is no longer behind the drum kit but never fear, Jason Nazary (Anteloper, Little Women, Bloor) is cut from same, outlier cloth. Bassist Johnny DeBlase has been there from the beginning and remains the anchor man. A real threesome taped Numbers Maker live in the studio in October 2019, just six months after Twilight Time came out, and what a difference those six months made. The Desertion Trio heard here positions itself somewhat midway between the Desertion Trio of old and that thrash-jazz trio Millevoi and DeBlase were in before, Many Arms. Their usual markers of surf music and Sergio Leone soundtracks seeps its way into “Albion,” for example, but otherwise this is freeform jazz in 60’s pop culture clothing. “Powers” is doom metal-jazz with DeBlase stepping further up front to shred right alongside Millevoi, much as they used to do during the Many Arms days. DeBlase puts down a meaty bass line for “Buist” and Millevoi gets a Pete Cosey thing going at the beginning of his long run that starts urgent and gets even more so as he presses forward. At some point he’s going impossibly fast and then he and his band slow down like a car running out of gas, only to gather themselves and take off again. The outro runs on a new riff and it serves as a platform for Nazary’s own commotion on the skins. The last two cuts illustrate the best how the Desertion Trio sounds when it’s truly a trio, because they were originally recorded for those prior, keyboard-laden DT records. Nazary’s Caribbean rhythm combined with Millevoi’s billowing, shadowy guitar gives “Taboo” a hint of the Police, except that Millevoi’s approach trades in a little refinement for loads more gumption. But even with that reggae feel, that surf music is oozing from Millevoi’s guitar. The fast-galloping “Numbers Maker” is the long one — lasting over eleven minutes — but Millevoi is able to tell a story, chapters and all. He keeps the listener engaged through technique, pacing and judicious use of effects, all with a metal swagger. Numbers Maker sticks with the Desertion Trio original vision, but that vision is getting rougher and rowdier. Fortunately, Nick Millevoi & Co. know how to do rough ‘n’ rowdy.





Track Listing:
01 - Albion [07:48]
02 - Powers [04:54]
03 - Buist [09:01]
04 - Taboo [07:24]
05 - Numbers Maker [11:21]


Media Report:
Genre:  jazz, prog-rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits