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Yelena Eckemoff Trio: Lions
by Dan McClenaghan
Yelena Eckemoff has a lot to say artistically. The Russian-born, classically-trained pianist--now home-based in North Carolina--has released eight jazz albums in the past nine years, sets that are packed to the digital rafters with close to the time limit for the CD format--in the 70-plus minute range. For Lions, the ideas spilled over onto two CDs, a ninety-four minutes of music that is--according to the set's drummer, Billy Hart--prophetic. Eckemoff has a way of working with themes, with ...
Continue ReadingYelena Eckemoff: A Touch of Radiance
by Tyran Grillo
It's fulfilling to hear an artist evolve. In this regard, Yelena Eckemoff has heeded callings definable only by the language of the spirit. The Russian-born pianist and composer comes from a rigorous classical background, and within those parameters has shaped a quiet yet assured corpus of jazz albums stretching back to 2006's The Call. Since then she has assembled numerous ad hoc bands, caressing ebonies and ivories alongside Arild Andersen, Marilyn Mazur, Peter Erskine, and many other established names in ...
Continue ReadingYelena Eckemoff: A Touch of Radiance
by Greg Simmons
Trained in an intensive ten-year classical piano program at Moscow's Gnessins School, and after quietly making records for over two decades, Russian native Yelena Eckemoff has been transitioning to a form of hybrid, classically informed improvisation with some exceptional results. 2010's Cold Sun, a trio featuring the exquisite drumming of Peter Erskine, was a tremendous musical statement for a leader making an early foray into improvisation and a record that is well worth seeking out to this day.
Continue ReadingBilly Hart Quartet at the Village Vanguard
by Dan Bilawsky
Billy Hart Quartet Village Vanguard New York, NY June 3, 2014 What does it take for an esteemed veteran drummer to get his due as a leader? In the case of the great Billy Hart, it seems that a pair of albums under his name on the ECM imprint--All Our Reasons (ECM, 2012) and One Is The Other (ECM, 2014)--helped to do the trick. Hart, who's been around the block more ...
Continue ReadingBilly Hart Quartet: One is the Other
by Vic Albani
One Is the Other è il secondo CD realizzato dal leggendario Billy Hart per la ECM di Manfred Eicher che, come sua buona abitudine, ha prodotto anche questo lavoro del batterista di Washington dopo il già fortunato All Our Reasons, uscito nel 2012 con la stessa formazione. Un quartetto di vere “all stars" contemporanee quali il sassofonista Mark Turner, il contrabbassista Ben Street e il sempre più valutato nome di Ethan Iverson (Bad Plus) al pianoforte. Il nuovo ...
Continue ReadingBilly Hart: Welcoming New, Loving Old, Sounds
by R.J. DeLuke
The ubiquitous drummer Billy Hart brings a special energy to the many projects of which he is a part. A band leader, composer and educator, he's been on hundreds of albums. He has taken the stage with countless bands, adding his rhythmic pulse to formations led by a litany of the biggest names in the business. And at each concert, when Hart is being introduced by whomever the leader--Christian McBride, Eliane Elias, Joe Lovano, the Cookers--they always do ...
Continue ReadingBilly Hart Quartet: One is the Other
by John Kelman
There's little doubt about the value of longevity and ongoing musical relationships. It's been nearly a decade since Billy Hart assembled the group that would turn out to be his longest-standing, releasing Quartet (HighNote) in 2006. But it was with 2012's All Our Reasons that the drummer moved to ECM, reaping the benefits of the label's renowned attention to detail. It's also facilitated an accelerated release rate; after a six year gap between the first two records, One is the ...
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