Olivia Moore and Adam Fairhall: Triangles

Violinist Olivia Moore and accordionist Adam Fairhall unveil a strikingly agile dialogue on their debut Triangles. This stylistically porous album refracts folk lineage, jazz instinct and chamber interplay into something quietly subversive. Moore arrives via folk and Indian classical study, while Fairhall—more often heard at the piano—draws from an eclectic hinterland of solo performance, early jazz, improv and less easily classified idioms. However, the eleven tracks, which span originals, covers and traditional sources, ground their unlikely turns in melody and rhythm.  

On violin, Moore traces a sonorous path, unfurling lyrical variations in extemporizations which remain largely consonant, but retain the verve and feeling of dance. Strapping on the accordion, Fairhall lends an orchestral dimension, swelling the sound, whether offering rich harmonies, forming a bedrock with propulsive bass motifs or embroidering the contour of the tunes. He brings a pianistic approach, notable for its sense of swing and fun, perhaps a legacy of his dives into the oeuvre of Mary Lou Williams, on Plays Mary Lou Williams (Discus, 2024) in the company of drummer Johnny Hunter), and the less frequented boogie woogie and ragtime tropes of Trinidadian born British pianist Winifred Atwell.

North American folk songs dot the program, like "Brickyard Joe," a hoedown which goes slightly awry, and "Darlin' Cora," where pungent accordion eventually settles into a rolling flow, tinged slightly mournful. Even the originals echo vernacular forms. Fairhall displays a wry gift for both titles and undercutting expectations. His "Adder In The Gorse Bush" marries jauntiness with a wistful air, while his "Georgia Cabin On Google Images" suggests an elegiac hymnal that slips merrily out of the church when nobody is looking. One of the highlights, Moore's title cut, maintains the ambivalence too, as a repeated accordion pattern and yearning violin line spawn darkly-hued meditations.

In fact, the elements hardest to discern in this engrossing set are the overt jazz influences, referenced through the improvisatory impulse rather than specifics, reminding that the music's essence has always thrived in the spaces between categories.