David Ecker: How to Rebuild

Attempting to enhance jazz with classical music trappings is nothing new and has previously yielded mixed results. Often, the music comes across as saccharine, or the strings serve as mere window dressing to add a faux classical touch. At best, when the two worlds are creatively combined, the emergent results are something new and vibrant. Frequently, though, the jazz component and its companion classical group alternate and support each other, which, although it can be beautiful at times, dodges the bigger challenge of writing for a tightly integrated singular unit.

David Ecker's short (15-minute) How to Rebuild is a through-composed suite combining a jazz trio and a classical string quartet into what succeeds as a septet rather than two groups with separate roles. The suite is a highly personal, musical modeling of the journey from one of life's unfortunate events to a place of renewed life. Ecker's words nicely summarize the intent of the composition:

"So there's a clear narrative arc here, but it's not something that comes full circle. This process is not about reclaiming what you had before; it's about moving forward. The only way to rebuild is to build something new."

The five "chapters" plus a prologue and epilogue work through variations on a couple of memorable themes. "Prologue" begins the work pensively, with a reserved tone and muted energy and a splash of dissonance at one point. The energy picks up in the "Chapter 1" half of the opener, ending on a bright note. The following three chapters treat the themes with heightened energy, varied rhythms and harmonic complexity. The final chapter and epilogue return to calmness, albeit with a brighter, more upbeat and optimistic tone than in the prologue. The suite is subtle, not background music, and unfolds on multiple listenings, deserving of focused attention.

The subject informing the composition could in lesser hands result in clichéd music. Instead, Ecker produced a lovely, thoughtful work for a mixed septet that is both intelligent and emotionally resonant. Distinctly different from his previous duet, trio and quintet efforts, How To Rebuild may be a one- off detour, but further, extended explorations along these lines are intriguing to ponder.

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