The Cosmic Tones Research Trio make the kind of music that just makes sense at this moment in history. It’s not zeitgeisty, it doesn’t riff off current fads or aim blows at current examples of political injustices. There is no arch post-modern self-referentiality and no arbitrary attempts at engaging with future technologies. Instead, the Portland, Oregon trio construct vibrating pathways of sound that lift you clear of those contemporary concerns. Their expansive brand of spiritual jazz arrived fully-formed on last year’s debut All Is Sound, an album that combined meditative structures and supremely detailed micro-passages in a way perfected by the likes of Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane.
The current arc of spiritual and cosmic jazz began its upsweep in the isolated months after the first wave of the pandemic, and it has shown no sign of receding. Listeners, it seems, have realised the importance of this kind of music and the contemplative moments it can help engender, particularly in times of international conflict and division. The Cosmic Tones Research Trio’s second, self-titled album covers similar sonic territory to their debut, which is to say that it is both mystical and entirely present, grounded in the traditions of blues and gospel but profoundly improvisational in its execution. The trio – Kennedy Verrett (keys), Roman Norfleet (sax, clarinet, flute, percussion) and Harlan Silverman (cello, flute, modular synth, bass, percussion) – create comparatively brief, condensed pieces that nevertheless expand into timeless soundscapes. The short track lengths (a cosmic jazz album with no tracks over five minutes?!) allow for a plethora of subtly different moods to be conjured in a short space of time, from the gentle, pillowy woodwind and impressionistic piano of opener Awakenings to the rhythmic insistence and stately cello of Sankofa.
Ideas start out small and grow quickly into complex improvised sound-worlds: Ba Hi Yah starts with a simple vocal refrain and soon accrues new textural elements, altering its mood as it goes. Spirit of Truth grows from a minimal sax riff into something genuinely soulful, a short series of melodic repetitions and variations backed by that ever-present, wandering piano. Invocation builds from a lush and lustrous drone-scape into a deep, echoing chant decorated with flutes and percussion. For its first few seconds, closing track Eternal Love could masquerade as a piece of Bill Evans-esque piano jazz before branching out into multiple directions at once, then returning to the memorable, melodic refrain.
By and large, the workload is shared between all three musicians. At times, one instrument dominates: the Sacred Garden is a vehicle for Silverman’s gorgeous, stretched-out cello, and Photosynthesis is a perfectly pitched modular synth workout that borrows as much from environmental music and Japanese electronic ambient as it does from jazz. But even in these instances, there are unexpected layers – a sweep of strings here, a drum beat there – that instantly serve to make these pieces more human, more interesting, more recognisable. I’ve already used the word ‘textural’, but it’s an important one. The textures that this group create seem like the work of more than three musicians.
This album might at first seem like it exists primarily in some cosmic ether, but it’s more than that. In a way, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio are part of the heritage of protest music. At times, when protest is necessary, peace is the desired outcome. We have the music of immediate protest, whose role it is to make itself obsolete by breaking down the barriers to peace. And then we have music like The Cosmic Tones Research Trio to paint a picture of what that peace might look and sound like.
The Cosmic Tones Research Trio (October 24th, 2025) Mississippi Records
Bandcamp: https://mississippirecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-cosmic-tones-research-trio