When pianist Yelena Eckemoff released Cold Sun (L & H
Production, 2010) - a trio date with drumming legend Peter Erskine and Danish
bass whiz Mads Vinding - the jazz world was introduced to a startlingly fresh
voice destined for great things. Over
the course of the six albums that followed, Eckemoff lived up to that promise,
delivering organically crafted music reflective of her classical background,
fascination with the natural world, poetic soul, communicative spirit, and
overall open-mindedness. Now, Eckemoff
is poised to make even more waves with the spellbinding Everblue, her third
in-studio encounter with Norwegian bass icon Arild Andersen and her first
musical meeting with two other Norwegians of note - drummer Jon Christensen and
saxophonist Tore Brunborg.
Those familiar with the background of Eckemoff's musical
partners will likely be aware of their shared history, as Andersen and
Christensen were both key players in Jan Garbarek's groundbreaking musical
odysseys in the early '70s and all three men were involved in the band called
Masqualero. But none of that has to do
with Eckemoff's motives for joining forces with this Norwegian dream team. Instead, she simply notes that she chose to
work with these musicians because they "would be the best match to interpret
the ideas for the Everblue project."
The musical affinity that exists between Eckemoff and
Andersen is already abundantly clear, having been demonstrated on two
beautifully rendered trio outings-Glass Song (L & H Production, 2013), with
Peter Erskine on drums, and Lions (L & H Production, 2015), with Billy Hart
on drums. On Everblue, their rapport is deepened and broadened, as both players
seem to resonate sympathetically throughout.
While Eckemoff has worked with a number of fine bassists in the past,
including Vinding and George Mraz, her relationship with Andersen helps to take
her work to another level; it's a relationship that, she notes, plays out like
"an interactive conversation."
In summing up her reasoning for choosing to bring Christensen
and Brunborg into her musical orbit on Everblue, Eckemoff cites both players'
elemental qualities: she likens
Christensen to "an ocean" and she views Brunborg as "the voice
of nature: animals, birds, winds, and ghosts." When merged with her own "wondering and
contemplative spirit" and Andersen's deeply resonating bass work-"a
bridge between all of us," according to the architect herself-the results
are mesmerizing.
With Everblue, Eckemoff doesn't simply present a set of
tunes: she presents an overarching musical concept that guides this
voyage. "Part of our human
consciousness constantly searches and yearns for the divine, unspeakably
beautiful, eternal," she notes.
"In my world, I call this place Everblue." It's a concept and a world that's plainly
laid out in her poetry and music, as everything is drawn around beaches and
oceans. And it's a concept within that
concept-the search for beauty-that informs this journey of faith and discovery.
From the first reflective notes of the title track, it's
clear that the value of this music is in the travel. As that number unfolds, there's prayerful
saxophone work to observe, glistening sounds to admire, and rustling percussion
to behold. Thoughts of "cool
sapphire light," "azure skies," and a "cobalt
ocean"-all mentioned in the "Everblue" poem-come through clearly
in the music. With "All Things,
Seen And Unseen," Eckemoff establishes a firm presence, providing
counterpoint and communing with the musical spirits and her band mates. Here, Christensen manages to position his
cymbal work against the beat and Andersen manages to achieve an intriguing
duality that carries across the album: he comes off as a commanding force while
also managing to exist as a wholly malleable musical entity.
Eckemoff brings a touch of minimalism into the picture with
her rolling triplets on "Waves
& Shells," a number that can be said to be "moving"
in more ways than one. Some
call-and-response interaction bookends the piece, yet it's not central to the
story. More important are Christensen's
mid-track percussive serenade and Andersen's thoughts of the moment. From there, it's off to "Skyline,"
a number that ebbs and flows in organic fashion as musical voices gently lap
against one another and starry-eyed piano charms and disarms, and
"Sea-Breeze," a world built with broken eighth-note lines, cymbal
gestures delivered in the nooks between beats, bright thoughts, and strong solo
work from Eckemoff and Andersen.
"Prism" and "Man," arriving next in the
running order, both come from the musically fertile mind of Arild
Andersen. By including these pieces,
Eckemoff makes a slight departure from her previous releases: she exhibits a
high level of trust, as this marks the first time that she's included somebody
else's work on one of her jazz albums.
That trust pays off handsomely in this case. Both pieces, while originally written for
other settings, manage to sonically embody the philosophy behind this
album. "Prism" was originally
recorded on The Triangle (ECM, 2004)-a trio outing that found Andersen working
with pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos and drummer John Marshall. Here, with Christensen and Brunborg, Andersen
notes, "it felt natural to do the song looser and more free in
tempo." This change in direction
gives the piece a wholly different character, as Eckemoff and company deliver a
dose of abstract realism, with lightly rippled gestures, peaceful moments of
clarity, and highly pronounced colors coming to the surface. "Man," Andersen states, "was
written for a short film some years back and I had never recorded it
before." The bassist admits that it never struck him as being a jazz
vehicle, but this band manages to shape it as such. Pockets of energy seem to
magically emerge and then recede into the distance on this fascinating number.
The remaining tracks, as with the aforementioned material,
all highlight the simpatico sensibilities of these players and their individual
talents. "Abyss" brings the
Eckemoff-Andersen relationship into sharp focus; "Ghost of The Dunes"
penetrates, with Eckemoff's two-handed angular work and a strong sense of
connectivity between Brunborg and Andersen on display; and "Blue
Lamp" is a patient and elegant sendoff, complete with firm yet pliant
gestures. In most of those cases, and on
nearly every track on the album, Eckemoff manages to present melodically lucid
thoughts bathed in ethereal waters.
Yelena Eckemoff Quartet - Everblue EPK
Yelena Eckemoff · Everblue
L&H Production
· Release Date: August 21, 2015
yelenamusic.com
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