Trion – Johnathan Blake

Trion is a double album by drummer and composer Johnathan Blake, released under the Giant Step Arts label. Recorded live at New York’s landmark venue The Jazz Gallery, the record documents the interaction of a piano-less trio completed by saxophonist Chris Potter and bassist Linda May Han Oh.

The release explores the timbral possibilities of a lineup stripped of traditional harmonic anchoring—a format whose lineage traces back to the historic innovations of Sonny Rollins.

The repertoire ranges from original compositions by all three members to reconfigurations of contemporary pop and classic bebop. Through open dynamics and constant structural flexibility, the album showcases a tripartite dialogue grounded in the clarity of attacks, polyrhythm, and the melodic autonomy of each instrument within the collective space.