Cadence, March 2002

Based in the Big Apple, this newly minted collective favors a flexible style that belies the usual connotations of their power trio instrumentation. Sharing equally in the compositional chores and their respective ensemble roles, Siegel, Rafferty and Menegon craft music that is at once highly disciplined and open-ended-postbop with a pulse rooted in older idioms as diverse as blues and swing. Along with the admirable array of originals, there's also a handful of cherry-picked standards beginning and ending with Coltrane's challenging "Fifth House." The three players, led by Rafferty's singing single note progressions, extemporize profusely on the theme before reining in with a more familiar rendering of the tune's hybrid melody. Chick Corea's "Guijira" and Horace Silver's "Peace" garner analogously inventive treatments that hold true to their original forms while still testing exploratory trajectories in terms of harmony, melody and rhythm. The same holds true for the originals, Menegon's "It's Funny" being an early and opportune example. Opening with a meditative almost somber preface of arco strings, shimmering cymbals and gilded string picking at odds with its title, the piece suddenly shifts emotional gears into light-hearted, buoyant swing borne out on the loping bass line of the composer. On Rafferty's "No Means No" a deceptively simple backbeat-fueled vamp provides the slippery backdrop for the band's spirited descent into flange-filtered funk. It's this combination of technical acumen and channeled imagination that forms the crux of the trio's appeal and bodes well for the future endeavors hinted at in the liner notes. -- Derek Taylor

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All About Jazz, November 2001

Not unlike the hordes of jazz piano trios infiltrating this rather diverse genre, guitar-based trios are very much in vogue these days. Here, guitarist Adam Rafferty pilots this threesome through a brisk set consisting of works by Chick Corea, Horace Silver and Sir Roland Hanna. However, the band also tackles John Coltrane's Fifth House and Wayne Shorter's Beauty and the Beast amid originals by bassist John Menegon, drummer Jeff Siegel, and Rafferty. Overall, the musicians provide a hearty mix, as they abide by a democratic methodology, whereas everyone gets a chance to stretch and contribute to a spacious and at times edgy group sound.

Rafferty's warm-toned electric lead lines and smoothly executed chord voicings provide the rhythm section with an abundance of opportunities to creatively maintain the pulse while also enhancing the sonic climate with nuance and multicolored accents. The bands' funk-rock piece titled No Means No, might spur notions of a scaled down groove, witnessed on Jimi Hendrix' "Band of Gypsys" LP.

Essentially, they swing hard yet sometimes insinuate and remold familiar styles of vibes into a jazz-based format. Furthermore, Rafferty displays an enviable technique and is equally adept at venturing into the red zone, or toning the proceedings down via supple or poignant interludes. Nonetheless, the trio manages to sustain a great deal of interest throughout. Recommended. -- Glenn Astarita

Rapport, Vol 22 # 1

It was the noted philosopher and jazz astronaut Sun Ra who said, "Space is the place." While he referred to the cosmos, The New York Trio Project dwells in a musically spacious place that allows each member breathing and elbow room, creating a dynamic tension within the harmonies on their debut record. Astrologically, the fifth house represents partnerships, and these partners share compositional and solo/supporting roles evenly. Adam Rafferty's sweet-toned guitar leads the band. A protégé of Mike Longo, Dizzy's musical director, Rafferty also records with a separate trio, as well as playing in Eric Person's quartet. A veteran of R&B and funk bands, and with a hit as a rapper in '89, Rafferty took it deep with classical training and his apprenticeship with Longo. Drummer Jeff Siegel played six years in Sir Roland Hanna's trio, and recorded with Ravi Coltrane. Bassist John Menegon divides his time between Dewey Redman and David "Fathead" Newman's bands.

Bookending the session is Coltrane's Fifth House. The first take works the group in some of the busiest playing on the record. Rafferty goes from block chords, octaves, single notes and sliding chords with ease. His quiet chording behind Menegon's meaty bass solo pleasures the ear, while Siegel works all over the skins. His tune, One for Jimmy (Heath), a sly mid temp blues, gives Rafferty a canvas to paint beautiful harmonized lines and popping solo notes. Siegel, even when allegedly laying low behind the bass solo, stays engaged and busy, quietly keeping the cymbal hot and the drum lively.

Menegon's It's Funny, a wistful waltz melody, gives the bassist a chance to show off his big hands, and Chick Corea's Guijira takes the trio into some of its most open territory. Rafferty single-notes his way through some scales near the fringes of the tunes' structure, with Menegon steady and experimental in support. It melts down to Siegel playing the sticks reversed in a near Moroccan-sounding solo. Like Grains Of Sand, a Sir Roland Hanna composition, sounds almost like a variation on his better-known "A Child Is Born." Perhaps the influence of Longo gives Rafferty a pianistic approach to his playing and free use of chording. Menegon leads his Aorbee almost up to the baritone range, then gets under Rafferty's excursion to the top of his range and back.

No Means No, Rafferty's composition, explores his funk roots, and he even indulges in a little wah-wah. But the use of flagging on the drums recalls the Small Faces' "Itchycoo Park," probably not the effect they sought. On the other hand, Wayne Shorter's Beauty and the Beast works the funk riff beautifully, with Rafferty much less heavy-handed than Herbie Hancock on the original; and Siegel's arranging the Beauty part into 3/4 time displays great sense. Horace Silver's Peace receives a reading that does justice to that composer's huge heart. And finally, the second take of Fifth House proceeds with less structure than the first, and more, well, space. Just don't call it "cool," as a trip to AdamRafferty.com explains, although like it or not Adam, the New York Trio Project takes cool into some very warm spaces. -- Rex Butters

Victory Music Review, January 2002

The minute I started listening to this CD, it calmed my irritated and tired spirit. Both lively and serene, this is one remarkable bunch of music. The trio is made up of world-class musicians: guitarist Adam Rafferty, Bassist John Menegon, and drummer Jeff Siegel, known as a drummer who can play the melody. They take turns leading the direction of the music, each taking the melody line and playing with it, teasing, improvising, sometimes using one note as a foundation for everything that follows. The rhythms and moods vary. At one point of track 7, No Means No by Rafferty, the melody on guitar floats from the left speaker over to the right and back and then spirals around, hovering in space. The song list is impressive although not always familiar. The opening number Fifth House was written by John Coltrane, Guijira was written by Chick Corea, and Beauty and the Beast by Wayne Shorter. There is also original work brought to the group by each member, a sign of the constant collective endeavor that they embrace. In fact, the use of the word "project" in their name is very important--it is meant to signify this collaboration and the spirit of on-going work. Complex, beautiful, serious, this music deserves to be carefully listened to. It's a constant delight. -- Jeanette Housner

Aiding and Abetting, #223, 15 Oct 01

Not yer typical jazz trio, but one that makes sense, nonetheless.

Two takes on the Coltrane-penned title track, with Rafferty flying in and around Coltrane's sax parts. He has a light, expressive touch that is suited perfectly to the task. And without perfectly aping Coltrane's riffs, he manages to capture the idea of the song and also restate it in his own way.

Rafferty and Siegel contribute a track each, with Menegon writing two. And while Rafferty's guitar is the principal solo instrument, Siegel and Menegon don't simply sit back and vamp. Their interplay with each other and Rafferty is what ties the album together.

The sorta album with appeal for a wide variety of jazz fans. The sound is smooth, but certainly not cloying in any way. The players rip off blistering solos without disturbing the mood. The quiet intensity of this project is most impressive. -- Jon Worley