The trio of pianist Paul Bley with bassist Barre Phillips and saxophonist Evan Parker debuted in 1994 with TIME WILL TELL. The connections with the trio of Bley, Jimmy Giuffre, and Steve Swallow from more than three decades prior are evident primarily in terms of instrumentation. The improvised music is so tied to the character and personalities of the three players that this trio has an identity unto itself.

These 12 pieces on SANKT GEROLD were drawn from a live recording at a monastery in the Austrian mountains, Propstei Sankt Gerold. Five of the pieces are trio excursions, with the rest being solo spots. Interwoven as it is, the hour-plus album feels very much like one continuous work. The group efforts quite often break open into solo and duo passages. For instance, four minutes into "Variation 5", Bley and Parker become silent, leaving Phillips by himself and in long, gliding flight, before closing out the selection. Bley then steps back in for the next number, a densely textured four minutes alone.
Sankt Gerold Variations 1-12