by Paul Klemperer

Recently I have been fortunate to play some dates with the Golden Arm Trio, a group which seems to be garnering the nickname of "Austin's jazz bad boys." This image derives both from the music's fierce eclecticism and energy, and from leader Graham Reynolds' approach to the piano, which sometimes resembles rough sex (and is most likely the reason they have been banned from the Elephant Room).

Reynolds was born in 1971 in Frankfurt, Germany while his father was in the army, but six months later the family moved to Connecticut. Reynolds began classical piano instruction at age five with a series of teachers. This contributed to Reynolds' current eclecticism; his recently released CD includes pieces by Chopin and Prokofiev.

In junior high and high school he studied with Andras Farkas, a Hungarian piano teacher who greatly inspired him and opened him up to jazz. Reynolds recalls that the high school band director was also very open-minded and let him perform original music. "For every concert, I would compose a half-improvised, half-written out piece."

Reynolds studied at Connecticut College in New London but found the music department "not very open-minded." He became an art history major, focused on drums rather than piano, and played in a variety of punk, funk, metal and alternative bands. In his last year there he formed an improvisational group, a precursor to the Golden Arm concept.

In the fall of 1993, Reynolds moved to Austin specifically to work on his musical concept. "I had a whole approach to the kind of sound I wanted," he explains. Rather than form a set band with set repertoire Reynolds wanted "to create an environment where the kind of music I liked could develop."

During his first year in Austin, Reynolds camped out at UT's Fine Arts Library. "Every week I would get a stack of art books and a stack of CDs and study them. Art history is as influential on my playing as music is. Often times I can relate more to art theory than music theory. It's less focused on numbers than on ideas."

The evolution of Golden Arm involved intense one-on-one playing with various instrumentalists, with Reynolds moving between the piano and the drum kit. He would work a particular coupling of instruments up to "a viable set" and then work on the next instrument. One of the first partnerships was with percussionist Boaz Martin. This was followed by a stint with Smoky Joe Miller on baritone saxophone, then Erik Grostick on bass. The most recent configuration has been Reynolds and saxophonist Thad Scott, who is featured on the new CD.

Reynolds continues to expand his musical concept. He gave a sample of recent musical influences as Prokofiev, Chinese folk music, Prince, Henry Cowell and Herbie Hancock. Also, philosophies of art have influenced him, in particular Dadaism, Joseph Cornell and Rauschenberg. In the modern era, the stylistic possibilities in art have become so wide that each artist has to find a way to incorporate different elements "in a natural way that's comfortable with itself," Reynolds says.

In terms of music, eclecticism often runs the risk of sounding "pasted together." Elements of various musical traditions can become overused, simplistic and cliched when they are pasted together. Reynolds poses the question: "How do you go about incorporating these elements without having that superficial quality?" This is the question that the Golden Arm Trio answers every time it performs.

The Golden Arm Trio's first live show was held at Emo's in October of 1995. Buzz Moran, who worked at Emo's, helped Reynolds get the gig, and also suggested the band name, inspired by the Frank Sinatra movie The Man With The Golden Arm. Reynolds says unequivocally: "I was more than happy to let someone else come up with the name. I hate coming up with names."

While the Golden Arm Trio has played straight-ahead jazz and cocktail gigs (a wedding here, the Four Seasons Hotel there), the tendency has decidedly been toward more alternative settings. Punk rock clubs and experimental venues predominate, such as Emo's, the Blue Flamingo, the Electric Lounge and the Hole In The Wall. The group also plays coffee houses like Ruta Maya, and even played the Pleasureland Adult Bookstore as part of an alternative to South by Southwest in 1996. In '97 they played a SXSW showcase at the Elephant Room, and had been regulars there until this year's over-the-top showcase performance made them persona non gratis. In addition, the Golden Arm Trio often plays music for films, and backs up poets and performance artists. They have worked consistently with the Performance Art Church.

Things seem to be moving along well for Reynolds. His new CD on Shamrock Records arrived fortuitously on St. Patrick's Day, and has been selling well. The project was backed jointly by Shamrock and Jinx Recordings, an offshoot of Jinx magazine, based in NYC and founded by former Austinite L.B. Deyo. The CD is available at most local record stores as well as Tower Records.

The Golden Arm Trio has expanded its venues to include Dallas, San Antonio and Houston and is planning an East Coast tour for June. The group can be seen in Austin in May at the following locations: Ruta Maya (5/8); Emo's (5/16); The Hole In The Wall (5/26). Check it out.