Modern Drummer: February 2002

OM Trio Live Rated 8 out of 10

OM Trio presents a postcard from their seemingly unending tour on Live. Drummer Ilya Stemkovsky plays hard, heavy and intense from the openning thirteen-minute "Hippopotamus." He's not in any hurry, letting the big kick talk loud, laying it down on the marathon "Clydedogg." OM sounds at times like the Ramsey Lewis Trio, at others like MMW. A three-minute splice of the drummer's composition "Phobophobe" brings to mind both Sly Stone and Tony Banks (Genesis), and it allows Ilya to show super finesse and all sorts of polythythmic sleight of hand. The drummer is so far back off the beat as to elicit a howl or two. These guys are in it for the playing.

---Robin Tolleson