Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Aaron Goldberg: At The Edge Of The World

56

Aaron Goldberg: At The Edge Of The World

By

View read count
Aaron Goldberg: At The Edge Of The World
One interesting aspect of this recording relates to eminent pianist Aaron Goldberg (Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman) reuniting with cutting-edge drummer, Leon Parker in Paris. Back in the 1990s, the artists' connected for a gig, but Goldberg was initially indoctrinated to the drummer's performances with pianists, Jacky Terrasson, Brad Mehldau and other notables. But as the press release notes, Parker moved to France in 2001 and took a self-imposed sabbatical from playing. At the peak of his notoriety, he dropped out of the jazz scene, although this album duly rekindles his personalized methodology and keen ability to morph the drums into an improvisational instrument amid loquacious dialogues and trade-offs with Goldberg. Oh, and he's a near flawless timekeeper.

Goldberg has emerged as a major force in modern jazz. He possesses Art Tatum-like speed and dexterity, evidenced by whirling chord progressions and shimmering harmonic block chords while also integrating a light touch and temperance into the more sensitive spots. Hence, the trio launches the festivities with Simon and Bernier's "Poinciana," which was pianist Ahmad Jamal's signature piece. And it's a delightful rendering, complete with Parker's body tapping percussion cadence and wordless vocals that generate a bit of counterpoint to Goldberg's execution of the main theme. But towards the bridge Parker stirs it up via melodic tribal chants as the pianist etches the infectious melody with trickling notes in the upper registers.

The trio performs two of vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's pieces, "Isn't This My Sound Around Me" and "When You Are Near." On the later, bassist Matt Penman's limber intro and Parker's subtly forceful brushes provide a streamlined pulse to coincide with Goldberg's gently swinging groove and buoyant lyricism: he dances across the keys, abetted by harmonic block chords and a bottom-up, top-down mode of attack. They also cover McCoy Tyner's "Effendi" with a medium-tempo swing groove and the pianist's gliding and dazzling work, complemented by his reverse-engineering and call and response breaks with Parker, and "Black Orpheus (Manha de Carnaval)" serves as a strong improvisational vehicle as Goldberg reimagines the tuneful hook. Not only is the well-travelled Goldberg at the edge of the world, he's also at the top of his game here.

Track Listing

Poinciana; Luaty; Isn't This My Sound Around Me; When You Are Near; Effendi; En La Orilla Del Mundo; Black Orpheus (Manha de Carnaval); Tokyo Dream.

Personnel

Aaron Goldberg: piano; Matt Penman: bass; Leon Parker: drums, vocal percussion & embodirhythm.

Album information

Title: At the Edge of the World | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Sunnyside 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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

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.