With it's unusual instrumentation and expansive palette of folkloric influences, The Nice Guy Trio might seem like an experiment in rustic jazz. But this singular ensemble maintains a supremely cosmopolitan balance between composition and improvisation, creating music as poignant and urbane as any group on the scene. Featuring trumpeter Darren Johnston, accordionist Rob Reich and bassist Daniel Fabricant, the trio's second album contains comprises/encompasses two five-piece suites; Reich's picaresque metropolitan gadabout quot;Sidewalks and Alleysquot; and Johnston's evocatively dreamy quot;Waking Music.quot; Joined by an all-star string quartet anchored by Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet cellist Mark Summer, the Nice Guys combine the precision and dynamic control of chamber music with techniques and emotional resources drawn from an international array of styles. Klezmer, tango, Balkan brass bands, ragtime and Nino Rota scores are all grist for the mill, though the group infuses every piece with jazz's improvisational imperative.
