Working since 1993 in their self-proclaimed format of "Balkan-improv-jazz for trumpet, guitar and drums" the Tiny Bell Trio are a tight yet wonderfully relaxed group working in the best of jazz traditions. This evening at The Jazz Standard was a part of the 40th birthday week celebration for Dave Douglas. With Brad Schoeppach on guitar and Jim Black on drums, Douglas led the group through a display of rich lyricism, incredible technique and off-the-cuff humor, reminding one that the jazz trio is still a vital and interesting unit in the world of modern music.

The dynamics of this group are inspiring, as the music jumps easily from the powerfully melodic to complex riff interplay to simply unusual approaches. Douglas in particular is both a powerful technician on the trumpet and a beautiful lyricist, using a variety of techniques that brought forth both unexpected sounds and gorgeous rich intonations; at one point he slapped his hand over the mouthpiece bringing forth a metallic popping sound as he joked with the audience that the technique took "years of training". The interplay with Black was impressive as he inventively worked in and around the beat, using small percussive hand instruments, playing the sides of his drums as frequently as the heads, and generally providing a stable but interesting basis for the numbers. His smiling and bobbing head showed both his enthusiasm and love for the music. Schoeppach was perhaps the most thoughtful of the group, working between a lovely hollowbody sound and a gritty distortion; his solos tended to work around the melody as much as they played inside, his often tangential approach lending another level of harmonic sophistication to the pieces.

Two pieces in particular stood out as good examples of how this band works. The first was a piece based on an Okinawan folk song with a boisterous and laughing melody on which the group improvised. The music was playful and rollicking, jumping between anecdotal melodies that hid the technical prowess required to pull off such a piece. The other striking work was introduced as a piece by a "German jazz composer" where the trio used unusual aspects of their instruments, including running the sticks down the sides of the cymbals, the aforementioned trumpet pop, while Schoeppach dragged his hand on the surface of his guitar to make an extended squeak. The piece maintained its musicality while integrating these techniques, a strong statement from a solid group. These pieces were balanced with the sheer beauty found in the opening number, or in "Red Emma" which contained lovely and soaring melodies amidst complex changes and dynamics. This is a trio with one foot in the tradition and the other in the future, a great balancing act surely worth experiencing.