Graham Reynolds and the Golden Arm Trio

It's highly appropriate that this endeavor gets its name from such an evocative film (The Man With the Golden Arm). With a here-and-there juxtaposition of mood and atmosphere, Austin's Golden Arm Trio grabs you like a jealous lover in the throes of co-dependency. And you don't mind one bit. Although the trio designation would lead you to believe otherwise, this forever fluctuating collective is really more of an expansive outlet for vanguard pianist/percussionist Graham Reynolds to explore a variety of musical tangents. Besides Reynolds, the only musician appearing on every song is ace tenor sax player Thad Scott. Jazz is the closest genre you can tie this music to, yet the Trio's sometimes discordant intensity leans more toward experimental fringe-dwellers like John Cage and Raymond Scott. That conviction was in full effect at the Trio's SXSW showcase, a jaw-dropping performance that got them banned from the Elephant Room. You see, Reynolds doesn't just play the piano - he attacks it by hitting the strings with mallets, banging the inside of the piano and preparing the strings with various objects. While "Rorschach" sounds a bit like Carl Stalling leading a combo rather than an orchestra, other songs convey both lazy contentment ("Three Inch Golden Lilies") and unbearable grief ("More Sad People"). There's also a pungent stench of New Orleans street funk in the metric drum/sax interplay of "The General" and "Bigwig." "The Rack" offers further evidence of Reynolds' percussive prowess with two empty steel trichloromonof-louromethane barrels (what the hell?). This isn't music for sipping martinis on a Sunday afternoon, but the wide assortment of sounds presented here is as exciting and inspiring as a stroll through a crowded street market replete with exotic fragrances, foods you can't pronounce, and bootleg electronics. -Austin Chronicle

Graham Reynolds: piano, drums

Thad Scott: tenor saxophone

Paul Klemperer: baritone saxophone (tracks 2, 17, 24)

Brent Ferris: upright bass (tracks 5, 17, 19)

Jeff Botta: drums (track 13)

Rob Jewett: upright bass (track 13)

 Past members of The Golden Arm Trio include: Erik “The Butcher” Grostic, Oliver Eclinara, Smokey Joe Miller, Boaz Martin 

Produced by Graham Reynolds

Executive Producers: Buzz Moran and L.B. Deyo

Engineered by Ben Burton in the Fall of 1997 on a Tascam 338 Portable 8-Track Tape Recorder.

Track 13 Recorded Live at The Elephant Room, Austin, TX

Tracks 3 and 9 Recorded by Eric Gerzymisch and Tony Brummer

Mastered by Russ Smith at Chocolate Records

Artwork and Design by Buzz Moran

Layout by Buzz Moran and April R. Litz

Digital Audio Transfer by Thomas Van Der Brook

Manufacturing Assistance by Joey Edwards

Photo of Graham by Jefferson Keyton

Originally Released by Shamrock Record Co. / Jinx Recordings