Reviewed: 2018-02-25
Genre: Jazz
FCCs: none
Review: This is the prolific Eckemoff ‘s first duo album, a piano and drums affair with another topline partner sitting at the kit: Manu Katche, a distinctive drumming stylist and a leader in his own right, with eight releases to his name, five of them on ECM Records. This CD is a panoramic set of Eckemoff originals that affixes different colors to life's stages, from "White," an examination of birth's blank slate, to "Orange," a celebration of youthful energy, through "Violet," a nod to the thrill of first love, to "Black," a facing, with equanimity, of death's mysterious void. Eckemoff's music is often complex and cerebral, drawing on her classical studies in her native Russia, and it frequently leans toward the reflective and inward.
If You Like: Keith Jarrett, Django Bates, Julia Hulsman
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
*1/ White (8:15) – piano starts> slow duet> melody shift> drum solo> slow jam> crescendo> slow duet> quick fade
2/ Pink (4:56) – piano starts> slow duet with several pauses> swings to midtempo cascading duet slows to fade
*3/ Orange (3:59) – piano starts> uptempo rocking duet> melody shift> midtempo rocking duet> quick fade
4/ Green (6:10) – piano starts> midtempo duet> piano solo> slow duet> melody shift> midtempo duet> quick fade
*5/ Violet (6:20) – piano starts> slow cascading duet builds to midtempo> & slows> pause> slow hesitating duet> fade
**6/ Indigo (3:04) – heavy piano/ drums start> midtempo rocking duet> piano solo> rocking duet> quick stop
7/ Blue (8:24) – slow piano solo starts> pause> uptempo duet> crescendo & pause> slow piano solo builds to midtempo duet, then swings uptempo> quick stop
*8/ Red (7:21) – piano starts> uptempo duet> piano solo> uptempo duet> crescendo end
9/ Brown (4:02) – piano starts> off-kilter midtempo duet> stop> pause> slow duet> quick fade
*10/ Bordeaux (6:38) – piano starts quiet & slow> midtempo duet> pause> midtempo duet with a series of pauses> slow fade
11/ Yellow (6:07) – piano starts, slow & hesitating> slow duet with crescendos> fade
12/ Aquamarine (4:00) – piano starts> midtempo duet> crescendo> midtempo duet builds in volume, then mellows> slow fade
13/ Grey (3:02) – piano starts, slow & hesitating> midtempo duet> fade
*14/ Black (7:32) – piano starts, slow & ominous> slow duet> pause> heavy uptempo duet mellows to midtempo> quick stop