Long before he moved to New York, Torres had discovered and fell
for the playing of Altschul, who had the distinction of being a
member of the collective improvising group Circle and trios led by
two of the most advanced pianists in jazz: Chick Corea and Paul Bley.
Having attempted to meet Altschul in person but never managing
to find him, Torres finally wrote the drummer to see if he would be
willing to meet. Altschul proved to be very approachable and invited
the young pianist over for a session.
An opportunity for a gig at the Mezzrow Jazz Club appeared and
Torres invited Altschul and bassist Hébert to form a trio. Since
then, the trio has appeared regularly over the past two years, including
at the venerable Jazz Gallery and Smalls jazz clubs. Naturally,
the ensemble has continued to evolve. Initially, they performed
original compositions by Torres and loose standards, allowing the
pieces to blossom into improvisatory explorations. Now, Torres provides
pieces with more structure, though the openness remains, the
group ever able to go off into any musical direction.