| Jazz |
Summary: A refined and deeply expressive trio album, Peregrine showcases Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, and Scott Colley at their most intuitive and masterful, blending analog warmth with the sophistication of modern jazz.
Peregrine: Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua & Scott Colley Deliver a Masterful Jazz Trio Album
When a musician you’ve admired since childhood, someone like Peter Erskine, first discovered in the electrifying orbit of Weather Report, releases a new album, and does so with a dream trio, the moment feels almost ceremonial. You slow down. You prepare to listen with intent. In a city like Austin, where the early heat of spring settles in with gentle persistence, you might grab a large bottle of water, settle into a comfortable chair, and start Peregrine with a quiet expectation, not just hope, but a conviction, that what awaits will be more than good; it will endure.
Recorded at Chicago’s Reelsounds Studio, a space founded by the late Mark Brunner, Peregrine captures something increasingly rare in today’s digital world: the raw immediacy and warmth of analog recording. Co-produced by Brunner’s widow, Jo Pangilinan, the album is both a musical triumph and a subtle testament to friendship, continuity, and artistic resilience. “Almost every track on this record is a first take,” Erskine notes, a comment that speaks volumes about the trio’s chemistry. Sound engineer Anthony Gravino, along with his assistant Brandon Schnake, captured that chemistry with sensitivity, while bassist Scott Colley, a relatively new voice in the long-standing collaboration between Erskine and pianist Alan Pasqua, brings what Erskine calls “muscular musicality,” infusing the trio with a renewed energy and grounding presence.
The album’s structure becomes most apparent when approached track by track, each composition offering a unique portal into the trio’s collective language. Gumbo Time opens with earthy flexibility, its groove confident yet understated. Bop Be shifts toward a more nervous, interactive energy, where rhythmic accents feel both spontaneous and inevitable. On On The Lake, the trio uses space and lyricism to let silence shape the narrative as much as sound itself. Their rendition of God Only Knows respects the original’s melodic purity while filtering it through a deeply intimate jazz sensibility rather than ornamental flourishes. Poetry Man and Chillipso highlight the group’s ability to balance warmth with subtle harmonic detours, while Wichita Lineman becomes a quietly reflective, profoundly moving center of gravity.
Leaving LA evokes a sense of motion tinged with nostalgia, its harmonic shifts suggesting both departure and memory. Contemplation lives up to its title, unfolding with deliberate patience and introspection. David’s Blues returns to a grounded, earthy vocabulary without sacrificing nuance. The album concludes with Dear Chick, a final gesture that resonates as both homage and continuity, a nod to Chick Corea, whose spirit subtly informs the record’s clarity, intelligence, and emotional openness.
For those familiar with the careers of Pasqua and Erskine, it is Colley who commands special attention. His bass playing is complex, supple, and deeply expressive, providing a gravitational center around which the music flows. This is music that rewards close listening: three musicians operating at a level of refinement that evokes the intellectual and emotional depth associated with figures like Corea or Miles Davis. Peregrine radiates a deliberate, urban sensibility, thoughtful, exploratory, liberated from convention.
Throughout the album, the trio, Erskine on drums, Pasqua on piano and electric piano, and Colley on double bass, demonstrates formidable mastery. Tempo contrasts create a sense of ease and fluidity, while precise control of dynamics fosters a constant, almost conversational interaction. Pasqua’s harmonic imagination is sharp yet understated, perfectly aligned with his articulate touch. Colley emerges as a remarkable accompanist, weaving a subtle but captivating rhythmic dialogue with Erskine, whose drumming remains responsive, fluid, and effortlessly expressive.
Within Erskine’s extensive discography, Peregrine feels less like a departure than a synthesis. Decades of experience, from fusion to post-bop and beyond, are channeled into a work that is at once concise and expansive. Where previous recordings might explore the outer edges of ensemble interplay, here the conversation is refined: clarity, trust, and immediacy take precedence over flashy display.
Albums of this nature are increasingly rare, and when they appear, they bring an almost childlike thrill: anticipation, delight, and the unmistakable sense of holding something precious. Through nuanced performances and carefully considered compositions, Erskine, Pasqua, and Colley have created a record that honors both heritage and the present moment. “This album was a joy to make,” Erskine reflects. “I hope it brings you as much joy to listen to it as we had making it.”
Joy, certainly, but also something more lasting. There is a profound satisfaction in hearing compositions of such beauty interpreted with intelligence, restraint, and mastery earned over decades. Each musician brings a lifetime of experience, personal musical stories, and a shared commitment to elevating the material. The result is not simply an album; it is a statement, a testament to the vitality of jazz as an art form and a way of thinking.
In an era of fragmented attention and production that often favors polish over presence, Peregrine offers a quiet counterpoint. It invites listeners to slow down, engage, and truly hear. In doing so, it points toward the future of jazz, not as gratuitous reinvention, but as a living, breathing conversation, carried forward by those who still take the time to listen.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, March 19th 2026
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Tour dates:
Wed, May 20 Piedmont Piano Company, OAKLAND
Thu, May 21 Kuumbwa Jazz Center, SANTA CRUZ
Fri, May 22 Libretto, PASO ROBLES
Sat, May 23 Libretto, PASO ROBLES
Sun, May 24 Vibrato, LOS ANGELES
Wed, May 27 Athenaeum, LA JOLLA
Musicians :
Peter Erskine, drums
Alan Pasqua, Piano, electric piano
Scott Colley, bass
Track Listing :
Gumbo Time
Bop Be
On The Lake
God Only Knows
Poetry Man
Chillipso
Wichita Lineman
Leaving LA
Contemplation
David’s Blues
Dear Chick