The Mail Star

Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 29, 1993

Review by Stephen Pedersen.

Drummer highlights trio's show

The most striking thing about the Steve Fisk Trio is not their repertoire, which is tasteful and classic, nor the considerable number of singable originals they include in their sets, but the absolutely equal role played by drummer Aaron Alexander.

Promoting a drummer to the role of soloist, springing him out of the confines os sheer literal time-keeping into the daylight of trading tunes and solo choruses (instead of fours or eights) on a level playing field with guitar and bass, depends entirely on the ability of the drummer to vamp, comp, play melodically and imply harmonies, even though his traps are not designed to sound tuned pitches.

Alexander, a former student of Jerry Granelli, embraces this role with enthusiasm, skill, imagination and a keen ear. At times the structures he creates are so rich in invention you can forget you are listening to a drum set.

But not quite. His time-keeping , often delegated to the high-hat cymbal as he cavorts elsewhere around the melodic rhythm of the tune, is superb. It is both solid (he doesn't speed up or slow down) and tightly jammed against the beat, kicking the tempo forward so that the other players jump to pick it up.

Guitarist Fisk, also buoyed by an alert groundbass from Andre Lachance, responds with a deceptive kind of looseness that, in his best moments, and there are many of them, creates an illusion of free-fall.

the West Coast trio's first concert in Halifax, played last night in the MacAloney Room will not, we hope, be their last.