Trio Transition were a short-lived trio consisting of pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Frederick Waits; this is the first of the only two CDs they recorded for DIW prior to Waits' death in 1989. The two standards include a driving version of I Hear a Rhapsody and an easygoing Like Someone in Love, though most of the session focuses on originals. Miller contributed three songs, including the constantly shifting post-bop vehicle No Sidestepping, the unusually structured ballad Whisper, and the thoughtful hard bop tune Second Thoughts, the latter a tune that shows the influence of James Williams, with whom Miller had recorded previously while working with Art Blakey. Workman's Shades of Angola is introduced by Waits' furious solo before taking shape as a brisk samba as the others join the drummer. Waits' tense Two Faces of Nasheet (dedicated to his son, who also took up the drums) is easily the most exotic offering of the date, delivering a Far Eastern flavor and a hint of John Coltrane in Miller's McCoy Tyner-like solo, though it also shifts back and forth into a more conventional ballad setting. This Japanese release is somewhat hard to find but worth the search. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi

1		I Hear a Rhapsody
2		Shades of Angola
3		Up Jumped Spring
4		No Sidestepping
5		Like Someone in Love
6		Two Faces of Nasheet
7		Whisper
8		Second Thoughts

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