(((O))) Review: Pete Roth Trio – Group Chat

It seemed like a fairy tale, a dream. A dream with unbelievable results and exceptional taste throughout this incredible voyage of hypnotic music, delivered with remarkable precision. It also brings jazz back to the forefront with a fierce force that hits you with all of its power. That, of course, is the Pete Roth Trio‘s new album, Group Chat, which gets you out of your chair and prepares you for a roller-coaster ride as guitarist Pete Roth, bassist Mike Pratt, and the returning drummer Bill Bruford handling the business and delivering the goods.

It’s true. It had been 13 years since Bill Bruford last put his hands on a drum kit. After an extraordinary career with Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Bruford, Earthworks, U.K., Pavlov’s Dog, Absolute Elsewhere, and Annette Peacock, he showed no signs of slowing down creatively. When he reunited with the Pete Roth Trio in 2022, having known Pete from the years when Roth worked as his drum technician, Bruford decided it was finally time to get back to business.

Listening to Group Chat feels as though you’re witnessing something magical between a powerhouse jazz trio at the height of its abilities. You’re given a front-row seat, watching three musicians pour every ounce of themselves into these performances from beginning to end.

‘Part of the Charm’ feels like something straight out of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters era, recalling the golden age of 1970s jazz fusion. Bruford and Roth trade ideas effortlessly throughout the composition, creating a captivating back-and-forth between Pete’s expressive guitar work and Bill’s commanding, percussive drive, proving that he still has plenty left in the tank after all these years.

Pratt leads the charge on the opening track, ‘Full Circle’, steering the trio into a Zappa-esque landscape reminiscent of the One Size Fits All era. Pete and Bill flirt with the spirit of ‘Inca Roads’ while channeling Allan Holdsworth’s harmonic approach through intricate stop-and-go motifs. From there, they venture into mysterious funk as Bruford spices the arrangement with crisp, click-clacking rhythmic effects.

The trio are no spring chickens, but when it comes to navigating outrageous time changes and unexpected twists, they remain fearless. They are exceptionally good at it. At first, the title track sounds as though it could accompany a classic Looney Tunes short such as Falling Hare or Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid from the Bob Clampett era, or perhaps even a Tom and Jerry cartoon from the Chuck Jones years scored with the playful sophistication of Dean Elliott’s arrangements.

Before long, however, it transforms into a musical road trip. Roth tackles one challenge after another, racing across the fretboard like a mad scientist conducting impossible experiments behind the doors of his laboratory. Pratt’s slap-and-pop bass lines, combined with Bruford’s rhythmic inventiveness, reveal the trio’s deep affection for Herbie Hancock’s Columbia-era fusion recordings of the 1970s.

The opening three minutes of ‘Improvisations on the Largo from Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9’ feature Bruford constructing an epic overture, evoking smoky jazz clubs in New York City or the streets of Paris where jazz flourished. Together, he and Roth create an atmosphere that is mysterious and haunting, almost ritualistic, conjuring images of a tribal ceremony echoing across Monument Valley.

Once the piece shifts into a Monk-inspired stroll filled with bebop textures, it feels as though you’ve stepped into an alternate universe where Thelonious Monk and Wes Montgomery collaborated. The music then grows heavier, bluesier, and more rugged before launching into the revved-up riffs of ‘Looking Forward to Looking Back.’

Pete settles into a shuffling blues groove before easing into softer, more layered passages, sliding gracefully across the fret board before unleashing flashes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and John McLaughlin. And yes, there’s even a tip of the hat to Jimi Hendrix. That Hendrix influence emerges with a metallic crunch that Roth folds naturally into his own fiery musical language.

The final three minutes find Pete changing his tone completely, creating an angelic choir-like atmosphere. The synth-like textures serve as a beautiful nod to Allan Holdsworth’s SynthAxe work, making the passage both deeply emotional and rewarding, as though Holdsworth’s spirit were still watching over Bruford and his former bandmate. From there, the trio dives into a fusion-infused bossa nova interpretation of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess.

There have been countless interpretations of ‘Summertime’ by artists such as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and, of course, Janis Joplin’s emotionally charged rendition with Big Brother & the Holding Company on 1967’s Cheap Thrills. The Pete Roth Trio, however, takes the composition somewhere entirely different.

Their version begins with a mellow atmosphere before erupting into a powder keg of intensity, drawing upon the Crimson-like power of the Red era. Roth’s sliding guitar lines climb and descend like chutes and ladders before returning to shimmering ambient passages, while Bruford’s explosive improvisation injects the performance with electrifying energy.

‘Dancing With Grace’ serves as the calm after the storm of the opening six tracks. Roth paints wide-open landscapes with his guitar, evoking the Arizona mountains under the scorching summer sun before guiding the listener into the cool stillness of the evening. Meanwhile, Pratt and Bruford quietly prepare for the ominous arrival of ‘Original Sin’, which recalls Bruford’s years with King Crimson during the John Wetton era.

There are hints of Islands, but even stronger echoes of Starless and Bible Black. Bruford shines throughout, moving effortlessly between the hi-hat, snare, tom-toms, and bass drum while adding a distinctly film-noir atmosphere. The mood recalls the hard-boiled Dick Tracy serials of the late 1930s and early 1940s, with Ralph Byrd embodying Chester Gould’s iconic detective in the title role, decades before Warren Beatty’s stylish 1990 adaptation for Walt Disney Pictures introduced the character to a new generation.

Closing Group Chat is ‘Hard Case Soft Centre’, a thrilling Mahavishnu Orchestra-inspired ride that echoes the spirit of The Inner Mounting Flame. Roth once again unleashes his heavier guitar tone before leading the trio into quieter, almost meditative passages that evoke wandering through ancient Egyptian pyramids, composing a soundtrack within their stone corridors before accelerating back onto the musical racetrack for one final exhilarating sprint.

Group Chat is more than just a welcome return for Bill Bruford, it’s a testament to the remarkable chemistry he shares with Pete Roth and Mike Pratt. The trio plays with complete trust, adventurous spirit, and an infectious sense of joy, blending jazz, fusion, blues, progressive rock, and improvisation into a seamless whole.

Rather than celebrating nostalgia, Group Chat looks firmly toward the future, proving that great musicians never stop exploring. It’s an exhilarating, imaginative, and thoroughly rewarding journey that reminds us why Bill Bruford remains one of the most inventive drummers in modern music, and why the Pete Roth Trio deserves to be heard by anyone with a love for fearless, boundary-pushing jazz.