With the band name Laughing Bastards and the presence of tenor saxophonist Michel Mast -- a mainstay of manic avant jazzers X-Legged Sally and Flat Earth Society -- in the lineup, one might expect some crazy musical hijinks on this 2013 eponymous recording by the Ghent, Belgium-based trio. Nothing could be further from the truth. The drummerless threesome, featuring comparative youngsters Jan-Sebastiaan DeGeyter on electric guitar and Nils Vermeulen on double bass, play instrumental jazz nicely suited for sophisticated club listening or background music for an intimate gathering of friends. The trio's configuration is inspired by the original Jimmy Giuffre 3, which featured Giuffre on clarinet and saxes, Jim Hall on guitar, and Ralph Pena on bass, and whose 1957 eponymous debut included one of Giuffre's most well-known numbers, the folky "The Train and the River." A sprightly version of that track is here, with DeGeyter's nimble, reverby stylings and Mast's relaxed tenor supported by Vermeulen's appropriately pulsing bass. Perhaps in the spirit of Giuffre's later improvised work with a different trio -- most notably heard in 1962's landmark Free Fall, featuring the leader on clarinet with pianist Paul Bley and bassist Steve Swallow -- Laughing Bastards' searching "Easter Bunny" is a collective improvisation; it's a fine vehicle for in-the-moment spontaneity that flows with an easy grace, maintaining the album's overall mood yet introducing elements of unpredictability before, toward its conclusion, coalescing around DeGeyter's plucked groove.

1		Lawns
2		Boogie Woogie Bossa Nova
3		Se Ela Perguntar
4		Mexican Flu
5		The Train and the River
6		Easter Bunny [Impro]
7		Too Much Sake
8		What's My Name

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