Home » Jazz Articles » Multiple Reviews » Yelena Eckemoff And Cory Smythe: Imagination Unbound
Yelena Eckemoff And Cory Smythe: Imagination Unbound
ByYelena Eckemoff
Lonely Man and His Fish
L & H Production
2023
The beauty of pianist/composer Eckemoff's ambitious work here is that the carefully-crafted, multi-leveled concept never impinges upon the flow of the musicianship. Quite the contrary, as the arrangements not only further the colorful narrative (chapters of which consist of prose and paintings in the accompanying thirty-two page booklet), but also demonstrate how such detailed charts, in the right hands, replicate the open-ended spontaneity of improvisation. Toward that end too, the variety of instrumentsvarious Japanese flutes by Masaru Koga, electric and acoustic bass plus multiple keyboards from the composer/bandleaderprovide as much backdrop as pertinent detail to the unfolding storyline: the familiar sound of Kirk Knuffke's cornet (almost) offsets the oddity of certain tones and textures that permeate an environmental maelstrom no longer as familiar as it used to be prior to marked change. A near-perfect clarity and balance of recorded sound pervades the ninety-some minutes on two CDs, a logical reflection of this artist's overall creative lucidity.
Cory Smythe
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Pyroclastic Records
2023
It's impossible to deny the courage in pianist/composer Smythe's reimaginings of this ever-so-familiar Jerome Kern showtune. Along the very same same lines as his imaginative collaboration with Sylvie Courvoisier devoted to Stravinksy's "Rite of Spring," the standard that serves as jumping off point for for an ambitious piece of work combining intricately arranged ensemble pieces and solo piano improvisations, the progression of which, by album's end, crystallizes into a metaphor for the contemporary global confluence (and conflict) of cultural/social campaigns. Whether intentional or not, the arrangements for horns, strings and voice stand as dual object lessons in point/counterpoint of political persuasion, those confluences and crosscurrents rendered as compelling as the engrossing graphic design of the package. Meanwhile, performances that take the form of multiple versions of the title piece, in combination with various versions of "Liquiform" and "Combustion," lend themselves to interpolations via a reprogrammed CD to simulate the (over) stimulation coursing through a society in perpetual flux.
Tracks and Personnel
Lonely Man and His Fish Tracks: CD 1: Lonely Man; Pet Store; First Evening at Home; Breakfast for Two; Man and His Fish; Accident; In Hospital. CD 2: Into the Wild; Life in the Pond; Survivor; Empty House; Song for Spark; Call of Friendship; Dreaming Together. Personnel: Yelena Eckemoff: piano, Rhodes, Ampli-celeste; Kirk Knuffke: cornet; Masaru Koga: Japanese flutes; Ben Street: acoustic and electric bass; Eric Harland: drums and percussion.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Tracks: Liquiform 1; Combustion 1; Liquiform 2; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. Personnel: Cory Smythe: piano; Sofia Jernberg: voice / vocals; Joshua Modney: violin; Tomeka Reid: cello; Peter Evans: trumpet; Zekkereya El-magharbel: trombone; Ingrid Laubrock: saxophone; David Leon: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, clarinet; Stephan Crump: bass; Jessie Cox: drums.
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Multiple Reviews
Yelena Eckemoff
Doug Collette
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Cory Smythe
L & H Production
Masaru Koga
Kirk Knuffke
Pyroclastic Records
Sylvie Courvosier