Roberta Piket: Emanation (Solo: Volume 2)

The daughter of noted Austrian composer/conductor Fredrick Piket, New York native Roberta Piket took to the piano at an early age, later receiving a degree in jazz piano from New England Conservatory. Piket studied with pianist Richie Beirach, upon returning to New York and receiving an NEA grant. Years later, Beirach has demonstrated his sureness of Piket by serving as production assistant and writing the liner notes for Emanation (Solo: Volume 2). Piket's early jazz influences and an interest in her late father's collection of classical music are evident in this collection where she strikes an appealing balance between the genres.

A finalist in the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition, Piket is almost hyper-active in the number of her musical engagements. She leads an electric band, Alternating Current, as well as a free jazz trio and works in a quartet that sets music to the poems of Vladimir Nabokov. Piket is equally at home in a Harlem jazz club or a French concert hall. She has worked with a broad range on notable artists including saxophonist/ flautist David Liebman, bassists Rufus Reid, Michael Formanek and saxophonist Benny Golson.

Nowhere is the amalgamation of jazz and classical more finely displayed than on "Saying Goodbye," Piket's own composition. She takes a similar—but more subdued—approach to this blending of styles on "Fantasy on a Theme by Chopin (Prelude Op. 28 No. 2 in A Minor), a nearly complete reimaging of the original composition. Picket had covered several Monk compositions on her previous solo effort Solo (Thirteenth Note Records, 2012) and adds to that repertoire here with "Ba Lue Bolivar Ba Lues" (often referred to as "Bolivar Blues"). Included in the collection is a masterful cover of Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma" displaying flawless technique and a decidedly inventive style.

Piket's musical realms continue to grow and expand and she exhibits a skill for incorporating the strong belief that multiple musical interests need not present an obstacle in the same program. In fact, Emanation (Solo: Volume 2) is a masterful example of Piket's additive creative process; it is one that allows her to cover a significant amount of esthetic ground while providing a absorbing platform for her ample talent.