Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Cecil Taylor: Algonquin

259

Cecil Taylor: Algonquin

By

View read count
Cecil Taylor: Algonquin
Spending taxpayer money wisely, the Library of Congress commissioned Cecil Taylor to write a work for violin and piano in 1999. The resulting Algonquin features the pianist alongside violinist Mat Maneri, recorded before an audibly appreciative audience. Clearly enjoying the company, Taylor plays it frisky, free and light. Maneri has a more youthful-sounding partner than on his Gravitational Systems duet with Matthew Shipp.

Reciting a short poem, Taylor opens "Part One." Maneri plays a solo improvisation, sounding already warmed up. Taylor plays harpist with the piano strings, plucking, stroking, and muting them. He cries like a martial artist, and Maneri drops out wihle Taylor commences two-handed orchestrations. Quickly returning to the fray, Maneri spins a long yarn around the ivory storm Taylor unleashes. The pianist's idea geyser remains a wonder, the violinist's ease speeding through that minefield remarkable as well. The two roll in waves, exhausting possibilities.

Taylor plays "Part Two" as a tuneful, tender, reflective meditation of borderless intimacy. Brief as a flower or a haiku, it's a little gem for the Taylor canon. On "Part Three" Maneri floats brief, spacious variations through his instrument's low range. By the end similar phrases linked by light-fire finger runs takes it out.

For "Part Four" Taylor introduces chording that could be a dense cubist version of "Tequila." Maneri saunters in and they get to work. Taylor's hands fly over rippling chords and variations, and Maneri cuts through like a fencing master. When Taylor rains keys over him, Maneri becomes the wind. Taylor amps up to full force and Maneri never blinks, the two locking into ecstatic musical dance.

Although credited on violin, Maneri occasionally sounds like he brought his signature viola for this show. Both sound like they brought their A-Game, and with these two, that's good news for every ear.

Track Listing

Part 1; Part 2: Part 3; Part 4.

Personnel

Cecil Taylor, piano; Mat Maneri, violin.

Album information

Title: Algonquin | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Bridge Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.