Noam Lemish: Erlebnisse

Pianist Noam Lemish carries multiple talents in his jam-packed bag of tricks: jazz artist, classical composer, improviser, accompanist. The Toronto- based artist-educator is probably best known for his leader/co-leader work in several different ensembles, including his jazz quartet and a twelve piece chamber jazz orchestra and jazz choir. With 2021's Erlebnisse he pares things down and goes it alone (Covid may have been a factor) at the piano, creating sixteen in-the-moment improvisations that dig into "deeply felt experiences" (the English translation of the German word "Erlebnisse") drawing from his jazz influences, western art music, Eastern European Jewish sounds and Israeli popular songs.

A soundtrack to Lemish's internal thinking surfaces: melancholy on "Erlebisse 4," a tranquil and meditative frame of mind on "Erlebnisse 2," an unsettled confusion with "Erlebnisse 5," with the pianist making use of prepared piano, making his instrument sound brittle and harpsichord-like. Then there is the "Erlebnisse 6," that opens sounding like a funeral dirge before a gear-shift into an optimist mode.

"Erlebnisse 10" sounds like a man searching for an exit in a house of mirrors; "Erlebnisse 11," evokes a shattered majesty, a rock crashing through a stained glass window as dark clouds roll over the landscape outside.

Lemish displays a touch of pinpoint accuracy, sharp and succinct at times, deftly gentle and soft at others, as he paints his pictures on his first recorded solo piano outing. He seems to experience things deeply, and he translates these feelings to his piano with eloquence and verve.