Daily jazz blog, Marlbank

A piano sonata and even the rare sound of a theremin to feature on Ethan Iverson's upcoming album Technically Acceptable

January is to see a new studio album from pianist-composer Ethan Iverson with his latest for Blue Note, Technically Acceptable, out on 19 January. A brief track, the original 'Conundrum,' is streaming ahead of the album's full release. The album …

Published: 1 Dec 2023. Updated: 7 months.

GALxMIOXYAAGnls

January is to see a new studio album from pianist-composer Ethan Iverson with his latest for Blue Note, Technically Acceptable, out on 19 January. A brief track, the original 'Conundrum,' is streaming ahead of the album's full release.

The album includes further Iverson originals 'Victory is Assured (Alla Breve)' and 'It's Fine to Decline' plus a version of 'Round Midnight' with, uniquely, the melody played on a theremin. Also figuring are a version of 1970s Roberta Flack pop hit 'Killing Me Softly' and a specially composed Iverson piano sonata. Iverson is with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Kush Abadey (known for his work with Orlando Le Fleming) on the album in its first half with later tracks featuring bassist Simón Willson and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. Playing the theremin is Rob Schwimmer.

The piano sonata, issuing label Blue Note says is ''a through-composed, three-movement piece'' Iverson noting that “Gershwin, Copland and Johnson really tried to blend concert and vernacular idioms. Then after World War II, high modernism and then relatively simple minimalism ruled the roost, and that mix got shunted aside. In my humble way, I'm trying to pick up that 1930s thread.” Ethan Iverson, photo: Keith Major

Tags:

Anna Webber and Matt Mitchell, Capacious Aeration, Tzadik ****

Stimulating sounds here from this heavyweight avant duo, a parity of esteem in the saxophone and flute playing of the Canadian Anna Webber and US pianist Matt Mitchell and an in-the-moment energy and inventiveness at every turn no matter how …

Published: 30 Nov 2023. Updated: 7 months.

Next post

rsz_matt_mitchell_and_anna_webber_by_liz_kosack

Stimulating sounds here from this heavyweight avant duo, a parity of esteem in the saxophone and flute playing of the Canadian Anna Webber and US pianist Matt Mitchell and an in-the-moment energy and inventiveness at every turn no matter how abstract or impenetrable the course of the improvising lines become. Webber has also released a larger group album on the Intakt label recently entitled Shimmer Wince. Dense and quite often intense but certainly not arid or clinical the main piece here is the lengthy 'Re-aeration' running at nearly half an hour but there are ''moments'' to be found on each of the five pieces. While not the same period or exact idiom at all I kept thinking that the rapport the two display shares something with that of Steve Lacy's work with Cecil Taylor - a similar meeting of minds from a good deal more than half a century ago. SG

photo: Liz Kosack