Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Soren Moller / Dick Oatts: The Clouds Above

330

Soren Moller / Dick Oatts: The Clouds Above

By

View read count
Soren Moller / Dick Oatts: The Clouds Above
The Clouds Above is the continuation of a duet project that pianist Soren Moller and saxophonist Dick Oatts began with Storytelling (Audial, 2005). Like that release, The Clouds Above brags all originals save for one classical adaptation, in this case Sergei Prokofiev's Balcony Scene from his 1935 ballet, Romeo and Juliet, here captured lyrically by Moller's most restrained pianism. Oatts plays alto on the piece, weaving in and out of the scaffolding erected by Moller. The effect is one of nervous excitement, sharply presented.

Oatts moves to soprano for "Reflections," his serpentine lines melding with Moller's rhythmic attack. On "Wide Open Spaces," the pair dons an almost pastoral tone that is both reflective and aloof. Moller solos angularly and with a quiet intensity, while Oatts' cold silk tone slides over the piano like dry snow, blown by Moller's gently propulsive wind. This is intimate, interior music, creative thought manifest.

The Clouds Above is kin to Bill Anschell and Brent Jensen's We Couldn't Agree More (Origin, 2009). These duets tend to be edgier and more modern sounding than Art Pepper's Tete-a-Tete (Galaxy, 1982) and Going Home (Galaxy, 1982), or Frank Morgan's Double Image (Contemporary, 1986), both with George Cables. Moller and Oatts opt for a more originals-oriented, cerebral approach in their duets. The result is a thoughtful recording that is often un-nerving, but always rewarding.

Track Listing

Prokofiev's Balcony Scene; Reflections; The Clouds Above; Wide Open Spaces; Jund Song; Butterfly.

Personnel

Soren Moller: piano; Dick Oatts: saxophones, flute.

Album information

Title: The Clouds Above | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Audial Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Soren Moller Concerts


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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

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.