Folks by Russ Lossing

When considering the world of folkloric music, it is astounding to think that sound ideas from places remote and isolated regularly find similar solutions and approaches to one another. Pianist/composer Russ Lossing has been interested in the expressive power of simplicity in folk music from throughout the world. Lossing brought together his trio of bassist John Hébert and drummer Michael Sarin to record an album inspired by his study on Folks.

Lossing’s focus on creating music that is accessible and open to wider development through improvisation led him to study folkloric music. His findings led him to focus more and more on the development of strong melodies and the use of call and response. For his own approach on the piano, Lossing would generate a melodic motif and then expand it into a longer related pattern, mimicking the call and response actions heard in music of various cultures throughout the world. Lossing uses the idea of folk melodies without quoting any directly, generating an instinct in creating this music and establishing an esthetic.

Performing this music with an ensemble of sympathetic and curious musicians gives the material added dimensions. Lossing recruited his regular trio mates of Hébert and Sarin to be his foils. Lossing began playing regularly with Sarin with upon his arrival in New York City in 1991 and Hébert would be a regular collaborator once he arrived on the scene a few years later. As a trio, they have been playing for nearly three decades and have an incredible musical bond.

The material on Folks came from a long gestation period of 10 to 15 years. For the most part, the music utilizes Lossing’s original melodies that Hébert and Sarin react to naturally. The pieces then open up for free group improvisation set to the tone of Lossing’s compositions.

The recording comes from the second of two days’ work in July 2017 at Charlestown Road Studio. The first day included saxophonist Loren Stillman and was released as Metamorphism (Sunnyside, 2021).

The program begins with the entrancing ballad, “Heaven Above,” the only piece that was written with key changes and in time, using a circular form over harmonic sequences for the improvised sections. “Village Folk” shows the depth that the trio can reach as they generate intensity with added emphasis on the melody as it repeats. The snappy “Grey” looks toward Lossing’s hero, composer Béla Bartók, and his melodic concept and structures for reference. “Country Folk” uses a simple minor chord progression to achieve its Eastern European essence.

The offbeat “Call Now” is built entirely on call and response, which is heard in the piano melody and countermelodies, with Sarin and Hébert adding some fascinating rejoinders of their own. “Mountain Folk” has chord changes but the rubato setting allows the musicians to float through the meditative piece like clouds through the peaks. The energetic “Lightning Bug” is a fun workout for the trio, especially for Sarin’s bombastic drums. The recording closes with “Village Folk II,” the piece finding a coming together of three wandering voices into beautiful harmony.

The transportive music of Russ Lossing, John Hébert, and Michael Sarin sounds contemporary and familiar all at once. Their focus on taking age old, effective musical devices and then incorporating modern improvisatory techniques with them, constructing music of true communicatory depth, is truly astounding and perfectly encapsulated on their new recording, Folks.