{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = The Reel | type = album | artist = Chad Taylor Trio | cover = Chad_Taylor_The_Reel.jpg | alt = | released = 2022 | recorded = May 9, 2022; June 24, 2022 | venue = | studio = Samurai Hotel Recording Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York | genre = Jazz | length = | label = Astral Spirits<br>AS210 | producer = | chronology = Chad Taylor | prev_title = The Daily Biological | prev_year = 2020 | next_title = | next_year = }} '''''The Reel''''' is an album by the Chad Taylor Trio, led by drummer Taylor, and featuring saxophonist Brian Settles and pianist Neil Podgurski. The trio's second release, it was recorded on May 9, 2022, and June 24, 2022, at Samurai Hotel Recording Studios in Astoria, Queens, New York, and was issued later that year by Astral Spirits Records.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/chad-taylor/chad-taylor-trio-the-reel |title=Chad Taylor -The Reel |website=Jazz Music Archives |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://aschadtaylortrio.bandcamp.com/album/the-reel |title=The Reel by Chad Taylor Trio |website=Astral Spirits Records / Bandcamp |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = ''DownBeat'' | rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="db">{{cite web |url=https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/the-reel |title=Chad Taylor Trio: The Reel |first=Daniel |last=Margolis |date=October 2022 |website=DownBeat |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Jazz Trail'' | rev2Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="jt">{{cite web |url=https://jazztrail.net/blog/chad-taylor-trio-the-reel-album-review |title=Chad Taylor Trio: The Reel |first=Filipe |last=Freitas |date=October 24, 2022 |website=Jazz Trail |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref> | rev3 = Tom Hull – on the Web | rev3Score = A−<ref name="th">{{cite web |last=Hull |first=Tom |url=https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/jazz-00s.html |title=Jazz (2000– ) |website=Tom Hull – on the Web |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref> }} In a review for ''DownBeat'', Daniel Margolis stated that, in relation to the trio's performances on their debut album, ''The Reel'' finds them "even tighter as a unit," engaging in "noteworthy interplay."<ref name="db"/>

Peter Margasak of ''The Quietus'' noted that Taylor's "perfectly pitched presence provides propulsion that feels so innate you might hardly notice his particular genius." He suggested that the album "reinforces his abilities as a composer and bandleader, where his weighty, expansive command of his full kit has no problem making up for the lack of a bassist," and commented: "As if we needed more proof of Taylor’s innate musicality, here it is."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/32122-mali-obomsawin-john-escreet-trio-angelica-sanchez-trio |title=Complete Communion: Jazz For September |first=Peter |last=Margasak |date=September 27, 2022 |website=The Quietus |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

Critic Tom Hull awarded the album a grade of "A−",<ref name="th"/> and included it in his list of the best jazz releases of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hull |first=Tom |url=https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/notes/eoyjazz-22.php |title=The Best Jazz Albums of 2022 |website=Tom Hull – on the Web |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

''Stereogum'''s Phil Freeman singled out the group's rendition of Andrew Hill's "Reconciliation" for praise, stating that the musicians "seem to be listening to each other quite carefully, and adjusting on the fly to make sure that the piece is holding together, even when it becomes a piano-drums duo; Taylor delivers soft but persistent whaps with brushes as the pianist moves confidently forward, extrapolating Hill's melody and turning it into a series of hypnotically compelling mini-songs."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2203224/eric-revis-interview/columns/ugly-beauty |title=Aspiring To Let Things Happen |first=Phil |last=Freeman |date=October 19, 2022 |website=Stereogum |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

Writing for ''Point of Departure'', Troy Collins called the album "an aesthetic distillation of Taylor's career to date," and noted the trio's "near clairvoyant level of interplay." He remarked: "Complex yet unpretentious, ''The Reel'' boasts a rarefied combination of emotional immediacy and unfettered experimentation... Bringing out the best in his fellow musicians, Taylor relies on the strengths of his seasoned collaborators."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD82/PoD82MoreMoments5.html |title=Moment's Notice: Reviews of Recent Media |first=Troy |last=Collins |website=Point of Departure |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

Brad Rose of ''Foxy Digitalis'' wrote: "Podgurski squeezes mesmerizing, pointillist patterns into Taylor's angular rhythms, blazing a path that Settles lights on fire. Taylor leads the trio with his vulnerable approach, adding layers of emotional depth and connection. Pensive reflections veer into bop-infused cathartic expositions to give ''The Reel'' a rounded, world-traversing joyous feel."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://foxydigitalis.zone/2023/01/19/the-capsule-garden-vol-2-1-january-19-2023 |title=The Capsule Garden Vol 2.1 |first=Brad |last=Rose |date=January 26, 2023 |website=Foxy Digitalis |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

The ''Downtown Music Gallery'''s Bruce Lee Gallanter described the album as "a complete marvel from the beginning to the righteous end," and stated: "Considering that this is a trio without a bassist, they do sound great just as they are... all three musicians expand their sound/playing to cover the entire focused trio sound."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/newsletter_detail.php?newsID=3631 |title=DMG Newsletter |first=Bruce Lee |last=Gallanter |date=November 4, 2022 |website=Downtown Music Gallery |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

Commenting for ''Jazz Trail'', Filipe Freitas remarked: "there are no weak moments on ''The Reel'', an album that holds one's interest on account of emotional honesty and a refreshing musical imagination made with a mix of complete unpretentiousness and necessary complexity. The members of this trio, not being radically different in their tastes and approaches, are definitely on the same page."<ref name="jt"/>

The editors of ''Burning Ambulance'' included the album in their list of "the 100 best albums of 2022, all genres."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://burningambulance.com/2022/12/16/best-music-of-2022 |title=Best Music of 2022 |website=Burning Ambulance |access-date=February 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Track listing==

# "Subterfuge" (Andrew Hill) – 6:17 # "Delta" (Neil Podgurski) – 5:38 # "Moon Tone Shift" (Brian Settles) – 5:56 # "Julian's Groove" (Chad Taylor) – 4:34 # "Nebula" (Neil Podgurski) – 4:52 # "Reconciliation" (Andrew Hill) – 5:18 # "Concentric" (Neil Podgurski) – 6:02 # "The Reel" (Chad Taylor) – 5:32 # "Omniverse" (Neil Podgurski) – 5:12

== Personnel == * Chad Taylor – drums * Brian Settles – saxophone * Neil Podgurski – piano

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Chad Taylor (drummer)}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reel, The}} Category:2022 albums Category:Chad Taylor (drummer) albums