Tyrant Lizard
Story Time
Self-released

Trumpeter and composer Ray Larsen’s Tyrant Lizard operates in a hardto- define realm of free-wheeling, Americana-inflected chamber jazz (other touchstones are the Westerlies and mentor/icon Bill Frisell). The trio persuasively staked out their turf on their superb 2016 debut the follow-up Story Time is a worthy successor.

Story Time focuses a bit less on avantimprov textures than the first album, favoring instead the gorgeously lyrical and often meditative side of Larsen’s writing. Since bassist Carmen Rothwell and guitarist Gregg Belisle- Chi left Seattle for New York, leaving less time for the frequent rehearsing the trio used to do, Larsen brought more fully fleshed-out compositions to the sessions for Story Time. Though the band might have left behind a bit of the improvisational darkness of their debut, the trade-off is a superbly cohesive and concise set of music.

The highlights of this winding collection’s journey are many, such as the album opener “Someday,” which manages to bridge both roadhouse roots and African highlife. Another peak is the gorgeously elegiac title track, which finds a pensive peace through a somber rubato yearning and resplendent trumpet performance by Larsen. The pacing of the album is sublime, with deftly playful contrasts, such as Belisle- Chi’s “No God in the Sky” (where the trio goes fully free and outside) followed immediately by an oftcovered 1926 chestnut “Tonight You Belong to Me” (covered by everyone from Nancy Sinatra to Eddie Vedder). Listen through from start to finish for the full effect.

The blend of Larsen’s thick, burnished tone, Rothwell’s dexterous affinity for both jazz and folkish heartland roots, and Belisle- Chi’s harmonic and timbral mastery has given Tyrant Lizard a patient, confident approach to group interplay an utterly distinctive musical voice. Story Time is not to be missed

Andrew Luthringer