Yelena Eckemoff

Yelena Eckemoff is an internationally renowned Russian-born pianist, composer, poet, and visual artist who organically blends classical elements with jazz improvisation in evocative and uniquely distinctive works that strike a delicate balance between through-composed frameworks and open-ended exploration and improvisation. Eckemoff is highly prolific composer and recording artist who produces the albums that are listed worldwide among the best releases of a year. Each release has its own charm and expression, involving the greatest celebrities of the world jazz scene, but always bears the personal signature of the composer/pianist. Yelena Eckemoff is a virtuoso pianist who played numerous piano solo recitals and lead her various all-star bands performing at prestigious venues, including Birdland NYC, Jazz Standard, Saint Peter’s Church, and Ronnie Scotts in London.

Her career can be divided into halves: Before 2009, she focused primarily on classical, folk, and sacred music as well as jazz, and after where jazz became her primary mode of expression— albeit still classically informed and occasionally tinged with experimental rock. The 2013 album Glass Song is widely regarded as her most important recording.

Eckemoff was born in Moscow and began playing the piano by ear at four. A year later, she was formally studying with her mother, a professional pianist. At seven, she attended Gnessins State Musical College, a school for gifted children, and after high school, studied classical piano at Moscow State Conservatory. After completing a Master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy, she worked as a piano teacher in a Moscow music school, gave solo concerts, attended courses at the Moscow Jazz Studio, played in an experimental jazz-rock band, and composed instrumental and vocal music.

In 1991, Eckemoff emigrated to the United States with her husband. While assimilating in her adopted country and raising children, she put her musical career on hold, but still worked at music itself whenever possible. She founded her own piano school and served as a church choir director. She experimented with synthesizer and MIDI sequencer in her tiny home studio, then formed a working ensemble from a pool of local musicians. She self-released some 13 albums in various genres including classical, vocal, folk, Christian, and original music, all through her own label, L & H Production.

In 2010, she issued the album Cold Sun, that signaled her shift to jazz in a trio setting, with American drummer Peter Erskine and Danish bassist Mads Vinding. Based on a winter theme (all her subsequent albums would be conceptual), the set explored improvisation within the setup of the jazz piano trio in four extended pieces that alternated with six slightly shorter, more straightforward jazz tunes. Chosen as one of the finest recordings of the year, reviews of the recording compared it favorably with the gold standard: ECM's many recordings of piano trios.

Less than six months later, Eckemoff released Grass Catching the Wind, with drummer Morten Lund replacing Erskine. Some critics lauded the album with the assertion that she was creating a new genre: classical-world-improv. For the composer and pianist, it was merely the latest chapter in her musical evolution. In December, she completed the year's trilogy with Flying Steps, which brought Erskine back and replaced Vinding with the prolific veteran double bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz. While her natural style still leaned over the parapet of classical music, her counterparts pushed the jazz angle in her playing and writing.

In 2011 Eckemoff cut the album, Forget-Me-Not, in Denmark with a new trio comprised of bassist Mats Eilertsen and percussionist Marilyn Mazur. The set was issued in February of 2012 to universal acclaim, with some critics claiming she had finally made the full transition to jazz. For her part, Eckemoff paid no attention; she simply wrote the music her muse dictated and played it accordingly.

In March of 2012, she entered the Bridge Recording Studio in Glendale, California with recording and mastering engineer Rich Breen, bassist Arild Andersen, and Erskine. (Despite their long individual relationships with ECM, this date marked the first time they actually played together.) These sessions would result in Glass Song, issued in February of the following year. (She played water glasses on some tunes.)

2014's A Touch of Radiance was recorded in New York and distinguished in its quintet setting that brought together the pianist with saxophonist Mark Turner, vibist Joe Locke, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Billy Hart. Though she entered a New York studio that same year, it would be two years before Eckemoff released Lions, with Andersen and Hart. It was a comprehensive look at "animals in the wild with human touches, a classical-jazz soundtrack that goes beyond the superficial, intermission grabs for attention and seeks out the feelings beneath the eerily accurate movements." She finished the year with Everblue, a quartet session filled with Norwegian all-stars: Andersen, saxophonist Tore Brunborg, and drummer Jon Christensen and recorded in famed Rainbow Studio in Oso by legendary Norwegian engineer, Jan Erik Kongshaug. It was designated jazz album of the week from German state radio, a work that put her mature musical vision on display.

Leaving Everything Behind appeared in 2016, a devastating emotional work unified in its themes of departure and loss. In addition to writing the music, Eckemoff wrote a poem for each work, and painted the cover art. Accompanied by violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Ben Street, and Hart on drums, it showcased new works as well as several compositions that dated from the '80s when she was just beginning her exploration of jazz.

Another shift in direction and instrumentation fueled the sessions for 2017's release, Blooming Tall Phlox. Recorded in Finland in September of 2013 with some of the country's best jazzmen — Verneri Pohjola, trumpet and flügelhorn; Panu Savolainen, vibraphone; Antti Lötjönen, double bass, and Olavi Louhivuori, drums & percussion — it examined the place of memory through the sense of smell in three suites. She closed the year in December with In the Shadow of a Cloud, showcasing a quintet whose membership included saxophonist/flutist/clarinetist Chris Potter, electric guitarist Adam Rogers, double bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. With her poems once more accompanying tracks, the set's unified purpose extended to the booklet that contained images of her paintings, session photographs, and photos from her family album; musically it featured some of her most "in the tradition" playing.

Eckemoff brought back Erskine and Andersen for 2018's release, Desert, along with reed and woodwind master Paul McCandless from the band Oregon. Its compositions and improvisations created a dialog between American and European musicians, canceling out the presumed differences between their respective jazz styles; it combined poetry, refined compositional techniques, and interpretive intensity. The set offered a rare example of the balance between intellectual complexity and emotional immediacy. Upon its release, the album was chosen by Germany's state radio station NDR as a jazz album of the week.

Eckemoff’s second release of 2018 - an ambitious double album Better Than Gold and Silver, with the first disc featuring ten vocal-based settings of Biblical psalms, with the lyrics word-for-word texts taken from the King James Bible and voiced by tenor Tomás Cruz and mezzo-soprano Kim Mayo, and with the second disc presenting the instrumental versions of same. Jazz stalwarts were called upon to join the pianist and vocalists, in this case trumpeter Ralph Alessi, guitarist Ben Monder, violinist Christian Howes, double bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Joey Baron. Better Than Gold and Silver stands as a new addition to religion-inspired jazz works that include Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and Ellington’s Sacred Concerts. It takes its place alongside Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts and Steve Reich's Tehillim. It also represents yet another new color in the rainbow of her recording projects, each different from the last.

Artist Biography by Thom Jurek Show less

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Album Review

Desert by Mark Sullivan
In The Shadow Of A Cloud by Neri Pollastri

”Yelena Eckemoff has done something almost entirely new—she's created what could very well be considered a new musical genre—classical world improv, if a name must be put to it. Drawing mainly, perhaps, on classical music, she's figured out a way to seamlessly incorporate world, jazz, and chamber ensemble elements.

The result? Music of uncommon beauty and pathos.” —Jan Dennis, Amazon.com

“Eckemoff isn't as concerned with musical tradition as she is with actively capturing various creatures of sound, fusing them together and giving life to another breed of musical species.” —David Locklear, Go Triad magazine

The result? Music of uncommon beauty and pathos.” —Jan Dennis, Amazon.com

”Eckemoff’s new album, Advocate of Love, shows this remarkable pianist’s influences, namely the modern classical movement, contemporary and be-bop jazz as well as others. It is remarkably mature and often programmatic in nature. It is not conducive for casual listening or as background music, as Eckemoff’s compositions demand attentive listening—and are quite worthy of it... Eckemoff’s Advocate of Love is a distinctive, authentically sophisticated album. Think of it as a classical work performed by a jazz piano trio, or a jazz album performed by a 20th century classical chamber trio. Somewhat akin to the Jacque Loussier Trio’s jazz approach to Baroque music but instead, taking its cue from classical music created several hundred years into the future. Each of Eckemoff’s compositions take the listener on a different sonic sojourn, with circuitous pathways teeming with aural discoveries. You could dance to it, but you’d best have some training in ballet, modern and jazz dance. Eckemoff’s compositional skills would also prove fortuitous for creating film scores and other thematic works. Not for the light-hearted, but very well done.” —Robert Kaye, Abstract Logix

"YELENA ECKEMOFF/Cold Sun: There's ECM music lingering beyond the ECM gates. Perhaps the bleakest picture of winter since "Reds", this Russian composer paints her impressionistic portrait as only one afraid of being sent to Siberia can do. A first rate piece of modern, chamber jazz for the sitting down jazz lover." Chris Spector, Midwest Records.

"If Eckemoff demonstrates anything with this enthralling winter-themed album, it lies in her artistry as an inquisitive, slow-paced, and free-of-sentimentality pianist able to express special emotional qualities linked to song titles like "After Blizzard," "Romance by the Fireplace," and "Snow Bliss." Excellent simpatico support from drummer Peter Erskine and double-bass player Mads Vinding."— Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat.

..."The acoustic trio has produced a modern jazz record of outstanding quality although this one may take some time before it sinks in. The melodies are not readily accessible as they are buried just beneath the surface and it takes a bit of work to pull them out. There is an experimental dissonance at work here that is not easily accessible but is well worth the effort in the end. All three musicians work beautifully together intertwining compositional form and improvisation seemingly at will. Eckemoff's edgy piano textures weave around the outstanding rhythm play of Erskine and Vinding and all three excel in the free form jazz style. With song titles like "Freezing Point", "Snow Bliss" and "Winter" it is not hard to imagine a theme of winter which somehow seems fitting for a Russian born musician. The album begins with the title track, a mournful number with a somber edge with lovely piano displaying a gentle touch and a fat bass sound. This is jazz with an eclectic edge but with no less charm. "After Blizzard" features stark piano, a subtle bass groove and washes of percussion invoking the calm after the storm before turning in an experimental direction, especially Erskine's improvisational drum work. The eclectic jazz of "Stubborn" is a wild ride of pure dissonance where deliberate bass lines and wonderful piano fills intertwine forming a cacophony of conflicting sounds. The album takes on a gentler approach with the compositional balladry of "Romance by the Fireplace" and "White Magic" before ending with the thirteen minute long "Winter" featuring marching style drums and intense piano work. Eckemoff and company have produced an excellent album with Cold Sun. Fans of eclectic acoustic jazz will eat this one up, I guarantee it."—John Neudorf, Sea of Tranquolity.

"Cold Sun is a piano trio release from Eckemoff which focuses on impressions of winter scenes (a follow up - entitled Grass Catching the Wind is to be released soon as well). There is an ECM-feel to the pieces, which meld improvisation and composition, and classical and jazz elements intricately and seamlessly. The talented artist is aided by the strong presence of Grammy-winning Danish bassist Mads Vinding and veteran drummer Peter Erskine - both of whom are stellar in adding contributions to the pianist's compositions. Erskine is more well-known perhaps for his big band work and fusion work with Weather Report, but here he displays a shimmering range of Motian-like sounds that sparkle like sunlight on snow. Some pieces (like the lovely and mysterious effervescent title track) float and ha"g like glistening snowflakes, whole others (like "Stubborn") trudge through snowdrifts with determination to survive. "Romance by the Fireplace" meanwhile, playfully hints at a tango. At times pleasant, at times chilly and bleak, but throughout - an engaging winter journey."—Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net

Eckemoff’s style has the thickness of notes and compositional straightforwardness of Dave Brubeck and the spare lyricism of Bill Evans. (Mark Keresman for ICON Magazine)

Yelena Eckemoff is shaped by her Russian soul. With her modern, sometimes revealing approach and the weight and intensity of her writing, her music is strikingly original. (Frank Becker for Musenblättern)

The seamless mix of all the musical influences in her life makes Eckemoff’s music simply extraordinary. At times dissonant, but overwhelmingly melodic, this is current jazz at the highest level of both sophistication and visceral imagery. (Keith Black for Winnipeg Free Press)

Her music is intelligent without being pedantic, sophisticated without being sterile, creative without being indulgent, and sensitive without being desultory. Tunes bounce, weave, collide and open up as temperatures and musical barometric pressures change. This is a joy on a plethora of levels, serving heart, soul and ears. (George W. Harris for Jazz Weekly)

Eckemoff places very strong emphasis onto making melody as attractive to listener as possible and creating a range of kaleidoscopic mood changes. She is able to achieve a unique combination of subtle minimalism with climatic span of her music to obtain a truly captivating sound. Eckemoff is regarded today as one of the most sensual and phenomenal form of jazz player overseas. (Robert Ratajczak for LongPlay)

Yelena Eckemoff is a singular musical voice. With every new performance in the studio or on stage Eckemoff puts a greater distance between herself from virtually all other musicians – pianists or otherwise. Every time that you listen to her and believe that that you have finally figured what she is ‘trying to say to you’, or believe that it is safe to give voice to her voice, it changes – not ever so slightly, but dramatically. Yelena Eckemoff can dance at the piano in the movements of every piece which are urged into life through subtle dynamics, voicings, articulation and judicious ornamentation. Yelena Eckemoff appeared full formed, ever since her very first recording; a creative time-bomb, primed and awaiting activation as if by the first bars of each of her compositions that she plays. (Raul da Gama Rose for Jazz da Gama)

Eckemoff’s compositions offer a journey of introspection, exploration and emotional intelligence. One cannot help but be profoundly moved by hearing her approach and ideas. Though classically influenced in nature, each composition is entrenched in the modern jazz idiom. With a vast discography, that includes some of the leading figures in jazz today, Eckemoff has clearly established herself as a top-ranking composer. The question is no longer whether she can be considered in the ranks of top composers; it is now how far her musical journey will take her. (H. Allen Williams)

Certainly jazz has never had a character like Yelena Eckemoff. Yelena is a jazz musician with flakes, as shown by her beautiful records that underline, song by song, the art of creating expectations or tensions. (Giuseppe Piacentino for Musica Jazz, Italy)

Blessed with prodigious classical chops, Eckemoff’s a gutsy, imaginative improviser. She’s also a gifted composer who’s devised a totally original take on the whole jazz- classical hybrid concept. Effortlessly modern, with nothing to prove beyond total involvement in the moment, Eckemoff presents the listener with a thoroughly modern, yet intimate and highly personal sound-world. Her pieces seem highly refined, replete with airy, vague harmonies that refer equally to Bill Evans and Claude Debussy. (Dave Wayne for AAJ)

Yelena quickly managed to create an enviable body of work that blends post-modern abstraction, classical thought, and jazz language into a seamless whole. There’s a fearlessness in her art that’s not always addressed in discussion of her work. She has her own voice, she knows how to utilize her gifts, and she’s managed to create quite a lot of compelling music in an incredibly short period of time. We may not know where she’ll go next, but if the recent past is any indication, she’ll probably go there soon, and it will probably be a trip unlike any other. (Dan Bilawsky for AAJ)

It is nice to be surprised by sounds – and yet it has become rare even in a versatile music such as jazz. The virtuoso Russian pianist Yelena Eckemoff, who has lived in the US for many years, succeeds in surprises organically, because she developed her music in an unusual way: her compositions develop in unforeseen directions, never in the traditional song scheme of theme – improvisation- theme, but in a narrative flow that follows a subterranean story. (Mauretta Heinzelmann for NDR, album of the week)

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