In
addition to the 10 musical expressions of radiance, Eckemoff also examines the
concept in other media; she painted the vivid sunset on the album cover and
wrote 10 short poems to expand on each piece, all of which are included in the
album's liner notes. A Touch of Radiance also expands her horizons
instrumentally, marking the first time that the classically-trained pianist has
recorded with more than a trio. She's assembled a stunning - yes, even radiant
- band for the occasion, featuring saxophonist Mark Turner, vibraphonist Joe
Locke, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Billy Hart.
"I
was ready to move on," Eckemoff says. "My goals didn't change: I
wanted to express in music what I feel and what I experience. But utilizing
more instruments gives your music a wider angle."
These
four gifted artists respond gorgeously to Eckemoff's music, wringing bold
colors and deep feeling from pieces that are both airy and intricate. "The
musicians helped me to paint my musical picture," Eckemoff says.
"What made the project a success is that in addition to improvising
brilliantly, all the musicians were extremely respectful to my written
structures, tunes and melodic lines. The combination of written and improvised
music as well as totally loose group improvisations has been my chosen musical
language. With each new recording I am more comfortable with this
language."
Hart
responded enthusiastically to Eckemoff's extra-musical inspirations, the
pianist says. He transformed his approach to evoke the sound of walking on
cobblestones, the fluttering of butterfly wings, or the crackling of a wood
stove. In fact, Eckemoff recalls, "On the song 'Affection' Billy asked me
if I wanted him to be a little puppy or a big dog."
Eckemoff's
blend of jazz freedom and classical structure pushed even such a skilled and
experienced group of musicians to stretch their limits. "She has her own
thing - it is not a copy of another person's music like you run into almost all
the time," says Mraz. "It was a challenge to flesh out these
compositions of Yelena's," Locke feels, "and I thank her for that
challenge."
Aside
from the opening track, "Inspiration," which sets the album's tone
through its air of dream-like mystery, the pieces on A Touch of Radiance and
their accompanying poems move chronologically through Eckemoff's life. The
playful opening melody of "Reminiscence," articulated by Eckemoff and
Locke, introduces a piece that harkens back to the composer's childhood in the
Soviet Union, offering a glimpse of an imaginative child surrounded by a loving
family. When her father enters at the poem's end saying, "I met a rabbit
on my way home / And look what a tasty treat he gave me for my little
girl!" it's as if the children's book and the world outside have merged, a
memory that feels like a fantasy, or a fantasy that feels like a memory.
"I
was an only child and I spent a lot of time alone with picture books,"
Eckemoff says. "There's a certain mood to this song that somehow connects
me to a time when I was five years old, and was in my world of literature and
images."
The
aptly-titled "Exuberance," which portrays a six-year-old Eckemoff
eagerly if clumsily helping her mother and grandmother cook a family feast, and
the tender "Affection," about a beloved puppy, continue these warm
memories of youth in a cold country. She skips forward to her own life as a
parent with the frantic "Pep," dizzy with the never-ending work of a
wife, mother, artist, and teacher. The shadowy mood of
"Reconciliation" provides a bittersweet image of domestic life, with
arguments and hurt feelings overcome by a loving reunion, and
"Encouragement" celebrates the support to be found in family.
Eckemoff's
music has often drawn inspiration from the natural world, and she returns to
that theme on "Imagination," a portrait of a snowy winter scene dreamed
up on what turns out to be a sweltering summer day. "Tranquility"
captures the pianist's ability to tune out the harsh noise of the city to focus
on the sounds of nature, while the title track watches a moth drawn to light in
the same way that Eckemoff found herself pulled in by the broader notion of
radiance. And despite the nostalgic stories and memories behind the songs on A
Touch of Radiance, the music doesn't indulge in manipulative or overwrought
emotion. "I'm a sentimental person but I don't write sentimental
music," Eckemoff says, adding with a laugh, "I know better.
"I'm
an old-fashioned romantic," she continues. "Feelings and emotions and
of course nature are always what interest me, and I still believe in
melodies."
Eckemoff
began playing piano at the age of four, studying first with her mother Olga, a
professional pianist, then at the prestigious Gnessin Academy of Music and the
Moscow State Conservatory. Despite the repressive atmosphere in the Soviet
Union at the time, she began to explore rock and jazz music with other
like-minded musicians. "Everything from the west was prohibited at that
time," she recalls, "and jazz was one of those things. But there was
a jazz studio formed by some activists who were also professional musicians and
we studied traditional jazz. I used jazz principles in my composing, which put
me on a different path from other musicians."
Eckemoff
stepped away from her life as a concert pianist for several years to
concentrate on raising her children. She finally left the Soviet Union with her
husband, momentarily leaving her three children behind. "That was the
hardest thing I ever did," she says, "but we had the drive to leave
the Soviet Union. It was a very hard and scary thing to do, but it worked out
and we never regretted it. It ended up helping me in my musical development
because I had much deeper spiritual experiences because of it."
After
returning to the piano, she turned increasingly to jazz and has now recorded
several acclaimed albums with such respected players as Peter Erskine, Marilyn
Mazur, Arild Andersen, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Mads Vinding, and Mats Eilertsen.
"Very rarely am I surprised like I am with Yelena," enthuses Hart.
"Somebody that comes out of nowhere with this much maturity and experience
and musicality. You don't expect somebody that you don't know to challenge you
in such an enjoyable way. In a very euphoric way it was a very satisfying
project for me."
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