More a decade since his passing, woodwind master Jimmy Giuffre has remained an inspiration to improvising musicians of many stripes. Giuffre’s long career spanned nearly six decades, over wide stylistic varieties, from the swinging big band of Woody Herman and the chamber jazz experiments of the West Coast of the 1950s to the avant-garde flights of his own classic trio with pianist Paul Bley and bassist Steve Swallow. It was the music of this trio that inspired pianist Lucian Ban and clarinetist Alex Simu to partner and release their new album, Free Fall. Ban was introduced to Giuffre’s classic 1950s recordings with guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Ralph Pe?a during his formative years in Romania. As he furthered his piano and jazz studies, Ban was more and more drawn to the work of the great Paul Bley, a singular voice on the instrument. It wasn’t long before Ban was drawn to the three Giuffre trio recordings: Fusion, Thesis and Free Fall
