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Keith Jarrett and Michelle Makarski Uncover Bach-- Six Sonatas for Violin and Piano (ECM, 2013)

9/30/2013

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Bach composed these six sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014-1019) over the course of decades until the last years of the Köthen period where he served as musical director to the prince’s court there. A Calvinist court, the composing of cantatas and masses and passions were set aside for more instrumental works such as the Brandenburg Concerti, The Well-Tempered Klavier and more. In the middle of those monumental works, Bach composed these six sonatas for violin and harpsichord.

It is a mistake of some music enthusiasts to think of this collection as something minor. Rather, all the magnitude of even St. Matthew’s Passion can be found condensed into these works for two instruments. Not only are these sonatas magnificent, they are groundbreaking in the use of the keyboard as something more than an accompanying instrument. In Bach’s customary democratic way, he places the violin and keyboard on equal footing and creates the basis for the sonata for two instruments or duo-sonata. [Hans Eppstein, “Sechs Sonaten für Violine und Klavier,” 1973]

The present recording of these six sonatas is every bit as adventurous as the great Bach intended. The difference is evident from the opening moments of the first movement of the first sonata. Departing from Glenn Gould and Jaime Laredo, moving far ahead of Gustav Leonhardt and Sigiswald Kuijken, Keith Jarrett and Michelle Makarski lead us into the heart of what C.P.E. Bach called “among the best works of my dear father” and perhaps into the heart of Johann Sebastian Bach himself.

Jarrett has recorded Bach for ECM before but this is only the second time in which he has recorded Bach on piano instead of harpsichord.  The first instance was the 1987 recording of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch 1. This is also his first classical recording since the 1998 recordings of the Mozart Piano Concertos.

Michelle Makarski is the violinist on this album. Schooled in classical music, she is also adept in jazz improvisation. Her first appearance with ECM was thanks to Keith Jarrett, as well. She guested on his 1994 ECM release Bridge of Light soloing on “Elegy for Violin and String Orchestra” and in duet with Jarrett on “Sonata for Violin and Piano.” The results were astonishing and ECM took sure notice. She appeared with the likes of Tomas Stanko on From the Green Hill (2000), the Hilliard Ensemble and others, as well as her own solo recordings Caoine (1999), Elogio per un’ombra with guest Thomas Larcher (2000) and To Be Sung on the Water (2006) with guest viola virtuoso Ronald Copes.


Jarrett and Makarski began exploring these six sonatas over Christmas in 2008. For the next many months, this music became the centerpiece of weekend meetings. Makarski recalls that the music was far from casual. “Think of it as a time-lapse exposure,” she states. “You don’t need to decide anything; you just watch. In our case, we just listened.”
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Having chosen to document the music, Jarrett and Makarski recorded the six sonatas at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in November, 2010. Makarski explains the “Even after deciding we’d like to record, the process didn’t much change. What you have is an organic long-term process of exploration and deep listening. It is a kind of momentary document of a joyously renewed friendship.”

While Makarski must certainly be referencing the renewed friendship of herself and Jarrett, the long-time listener of Keith Jarrett will ask whether this might also apply to the old friendship between himself and Bach. Certainly Jarrett returns to Bach with a new vigor, a new understanding, a new heart.

The Adagio from Sonata No. 1 in B minor (BWV 1014) opens warmer, more emotional than any other recording of the work. Jarrett’s earlier Bach recordings have been labeled as “staid” or “straight” or even “stiff.” Not so here and now.

Jarrett and Makarski depart from the well-traveled road immediately and with great enthusiasm. Where others have introduced the Adagio with staccato phrasing, Jarrett opens with legato and the warmth is evident immediately. It is not Jarrett’s jazzy rhythms that astound here, it is his sustained notes. Michelle Makarski duets flawlessly with him.

Is it unorthodox? Yes. Is it wrong? Never. An analysis of the Urtext of Bach’s manuscripts quickly shows that Bach did not include notations for legato, staccato or any other embellishments. In fact, the practice of Bach’s time was to allow the performer great freedom for the development of phrasing within the realm of what was appropriate to the ear.


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Critic Zachary Lewis comments that “Makarski eschews authenticity in favor of elegance and intimacy.” If, by authenticity, he means staying within the bounds of the accepted performance canon, he is correct. However, Jarrett and Makarski are completely authentic in that very intimacy.

It has been a well-worn and mistaken belief that Bach is “cold” or “analytical” or “mathematically precise.” What Jarrett and Makarski reveal in such splendid detail is the soul of Bach and it is warm and sad and joyous.

One exquisite example is the sweet and melancholy Sonata No. 4 in C minor (BWV 1017). The 1st movement is the languid Largo with its deep sense of absence. Makarski uncovers every hidden pain and lays them on the altar of honest anguish. The 2nd movement is a tumultuous Allegro with its demanding and unbending requirement of virtuosity. The 3rd movement is the tranquil Adagio that offers respite and serene escape before the Allegro of the 4th movement grapples with the listener like the final struggle of Jacob and the angel.

This is immediately followed by the deep and soulful Sonata No. 5 in F minor (BWV 1018). This is the “de profundis clamo ad te” of the book. Perhaps the greatest of the six sonatas, the poignant and powerful Largo is as deep and moving as any music anywhere and Jarrett pours what must be his own melancholy into the performance of it. Makarski responds with her own “groanings that cannot be uttered” to create a moment of the most penetrating self-examination. It is the gathering storm before the downpour of the Allegro. In the wake of the maelstrom comes the reflective heartbreak of the Adagio. It is the Vivace of the 4th movement that stands astride suffering and urges us onward .

In this collection are six sonatas in six different keys—three major and three minor. Bach is nothing if not symmetrical. Each sonata is composed in four movements, with the sole exception of the sixth Sonata in G major which has five movements.

The regulated structure of each sonata is a graceful first movement, followed by a fast movement, with a slow, profoundly sweet third movement and a fast (presto, vivace or allegro) fourth movement. Within that framework, Bach explored the keys of B minor, A major, E major, C minor, F minor and G major, respectively.

Jarrett and Makarski follow that roadmap—with all its keys and tempos—to enthrall, embrace and enchant. Along the way there are moments that can only be created when the most sublime music is performed by the most empathic of musicians—musicians who know and, more importantly, feel what the composer set out to create.

Wondrously, this is what Keith Jarrett and Michelle Makarski have achieved together, to make us say “Surely, this is how it was meant to be.”



~ Travis L. Rogers, Jr.

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"Chapter One"--the Extraordinary Debut from I Know You Well Miss Clara

9/22/2013

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Be prepared to be stunned and amazed with “Chapter One,” the debut CD of the Indonesian band I Know You Well Miss Clara. Aside from Japan, Indonesia may very well be the most educated Asian nation regarding Western music and culture. This album proves that point with every bar and on every track.

The surprising influence of progressive rock and jazz fusion are combined to create a delight for the hearer. While catching glimpses of Mahavishnu Orchestra or Return to Forever, there is also a shocking representation of King Crimson or Focus or Caravan, among others.

I Know You Miss Clara was founded in 2009 by Reza Ryan when the others were all still in music school in Jakarta. The name of the band was actually taken from the title of a song which has now become entitled “Conversation.” The band had been a rehearsal-only band, according to Reza as stated in the liner notes. Upon taking a gig at a music festival, however, the band needed a name for themselves. Keyboardist Adi Wajiya and bassist Enriko Gultom thought that the song title would be a great band name. And I agree.

The album begins with “Open the Door, See the Ground,” composed by Adi Wijaya and Reza Ryan. Immediately one senses a whiff of John McLaughlin. Reza calls himself a “technical but also sloppy” guitarist which is belied by the tightness of the band and his own craftiness.

Wajiya (keyboards) screams of Joe Zawinul while Enriko Gultom (bass) and Alfiah Akbar (drums) contribute a rhythm section as steady and innovative as almost anything heard from John Wetton and Bill Bruford.

The song opens with a mysterious melancholy until Gultom and Akbar propel the pace into something out of Weather Report. But enough of the comparisons and influences...for the moment. Reza turns on the heat until the piece closes as it began with the mystery brought on by Wajiya’s minor 2nd interval on the left hand.



The second track is now titled “Conversation” (Ryan Reza, composer) which was once titled what is now the band’s name. The causal electric piano opening creates an open-air feel that is used by all the musicians in an unforced way to create slow beauty. “Conversation” could well be the description of the dialogue between piano and guitar with suitable additions from the bass and drums.

It is at this point that the listener is amazed to recall that this is a debut album from a band only four years old. This sounds like the product of years of musical association.

“Pop Sick Love Carousel” (Wajiya, Ryan, Gultom, co-writers) may be the coolest recollection of the band U.K. ever heard. The strolling rhythm and delicate bass and Holdsworth-esque guitar causes one to reflect on just what sort of listening experience these guys must have had growing up. So creative, so passionate, so energetic, a band like I Know You Well Miss Clara brings fresh life to a genre that had been almost disregarded.

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Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Records declared that when he first heard “Reverie #2” (Ryan Reza, composer) it reminded him of Jan Akkerman’s work with Focus and he is exactly right. Ironically, Reza confesses to never having listened to Focus before. This track is one of the most rewarding on the whole album of extremely rewarding music.

Akbar’s hypnotic time-keeping allows Reza’s reverie to explore sound and texture in the broadest possible way. Wajiya’s electric piano creates watercolor movement and blurred detail in ways befitting Chick Corea. I love this track.

The most emotional piece on the album follows in the song “Love Letter from Canada” (Ryan Reza, composer). The title and atmosphere of the number creates the very image of longing and sadness. The broad chords of the keyboard and swirling cymbals portray a haunting sense of absence.

This is followed by “Dangerous Kitchen” wherein the band turns towards almost straight-up Jazz—certainly more so here than on any other piece on the album. This is most certainly due to the inclusion of Nicholas Combe on sax. The guitar creates a more somber sound in collaboration with the tight work of the band and the cool rhythm section. The result is an extraordinary work of Jazz.

“A Dancing Girl from the Planet Marsavishnu Named After Love” (Ryan Reza, composer) employs quirky progressions that pave the way for Wajiya’s spacey keyboards. Again the band is joined by Nicholas Combe’s sax playing opposite Reza’s gentle guitar and the inevitable result is enthralling and intriguing.

Reza Ryan’s vision for the band and adventurous approach to the music allows him to craft a mature discipline that shapes the band into something even greater than the sum of its parts. However, each musician contributes uniquely to the whole and the loss or replacement of any one of them would pull loose a thread from this exquisite tapestry that they have woven together.


Leonardo Pavkovic and MoonJune Records have done the Jazz world a great service in bringing this band to our attention.

Perhaps the most exciting element of this album is the fact that it is entitled “Chapter One” with more chapters to follow in this wonderful book that we cannot put down.




"Chapter One" can be purchased here. 


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"Storytime" by Billy Lester

9/18/2013

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The May, 2013 release of Billy Lester’s “Storytime” was a welcome addition to the great corpus of solo Jazz piano. It is masterful and meticulous, skilled and sonorous, paced and powerful.

The album’s progression is set up as a bedtime narrative, a stream of consciousness narrative. Transitions are intentionally absent and the texture often becomes more dream-like than story-like. The vocabulary and tone, scenery and imagery are thoughtfully established in the opening track entitled “Prologue.”

Immediately following is “Lullaby” which is not as serene as it is hypnotic. The chord progressions are given a delicate touch that manages to soothe despite the packed chords
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“Lightning Man” and “Ode to Bud Powell” are adventurous forays into what Howard Mandel calls “connoisseur Jazz.” Lester takes us on a ride with raw and (in “Ode to Bud Powell”) extravagant approaches. The rapid-fire attack is brilliant.

He can turn in a Jazz nocturne like “Under the Stars” or go for a bit of light-hearted romp in “Dark Streets” or offer the listener something more melodic like “Color Red.” He creates a film noir feel with “Bonanza” in which one expects to see the conjuring of Bogart and Bacall (or Peter Lorre). The left-hand pacing is delightfully dark.

Lester displays another tribute piece in “Sal Mosca,” another ode but this time to his long-time mentor. It is Lester’s recollection of his teacher without being maudlin but instead celebrates Mosca’s approach.

“Encore” is the final payoff of this remarkable album. It is full of vibrancy and touching torment as is the whole album—a late-night reverie of sound.



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