ANDY LAVERNE - Rhapsody
Steeplechase Records : SCCD 31905
Andy LaVerne (piano) Zach Brock (violin) Mike Richmond (bass, cello) Jason Tiemann (drums)
Recorded October 2019
Andy LaVerne is a technically brilliant keyboard player who, like so many of our contemporary pianists, started out as a classical student before moving to jazz. His career has taken him from a stint with the Woody Herman band of the mid-seventies and the Stan Getz quartet later in the decade through a spell with John Abercrombie, whilst at the same time maintaining a presence as a session leader and solo performer. Some of his finest work has been issued on the Steeplechase label and this latest recording is worthy addition to an impressive oeuvre. Here, his front line running mate is violinist Zach Brock, a musician formerly associated with the cross-genre band, `Snarky Puppy`, with whom he received a Grammy Award, and such luminaries as Stanley Clarke, Phil Markowitz and Dave Liebman, as well as numerous sessions under his own name. Together with the agile and resourceful Richmond and Tiemann plus some tastefully applied double tracking effects they deliver a set of intriguingly re-constructed standards along with originals and contrafacts by the leader.
Having at some point in his career received lessons from Bill Evans, it is appropriate that LaVerne should include material by his one-time mentor; they begin with `Waltz for Debby` which Brock invests with a minor-key pensiveness before building to a gentle multi-tracked climax. LaVerne’s pianism is impeccable with judiciously applied chord mutations, chromatic excursions and re-harmonisation rendering the familiar piece in a new light without detracting from its melodic integrity, an approach to improvisation which informs his playing throughout the entire set.
They follow with the first of the contrafacts. `Retroactive` is a re-working of `Softly as in a Morning Sunrise` which is given a modal feel, Brock taking on the slightly acidic tone associated with that other jazz violin master, Jean Luc Ponty. From here the mood varies as they proceed through a lively `Autumn Leaves`, in which the violin is featured soloing alone against bass and drums, followed by ‘Vignette` (aka `The Song is You`) skipping between waltz time and 4/4 with more multi-tracked violin imparting a distinctly `Palm Court` flavour. The underpinnings of the jazz standard `Solar`, itself based on `How High the Moon`, provides the framework for `Lunar`, a sprightly workout which elicits a vigorous response from all and the recital proceeds with stimulating versions of `My Foolish Heart`, All The Things You Are` and `Stella by Starlight`, all containing arresting variations as well as passages of limpid beauty.
The disc winds up with the title track, perhaps the most interesting piece of the album. `Rhapsody` puts one in mind of the music of the Romanian composer, George Enesco with its passionate Klezmer like intensity, tempered and refined by some mellow multi-tracked cello passages from the bassist and titillated by quadruple-time brushwork making for a combination that defies easy categorisation but remains identifiable as chamber jazz of considerable sophistication.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Steeplechase Records : SCCD 31905
Andy LaVerne (piano) Zach Brock (violin) Mike Richmond (bass, cello) Jason Tiemann (drums)
Recorded October 2019
Andy LaVerne is a technically brilliant keyboard player who, like so many of our contemporary pianists, started out as a classical student before moving to jazz. His career has taken him from a stint with the Woody Herman band of the mid-seventies and the Stan Getz quartet later in the decade through a spell with John Abercrombie, whilst at the same time maintaining a presence as a session leader and solo performer. Some of his finest work has been issued on the Steeplechase label and this latest recording is worthy addition to an impressive oeuvre. Here, his front line running mate is violinist Zach Brock, a musician formerly associated with the cross-genre band, `Snarky Puppy`, with whom he received a Grammy Award, and such luminaries as Stanley Clarke, Phil Markowitz and Dave Liebman, as well as numerous sessions under his own name. Together with the agile and resourceful Richmond and Tiemann plus some tastefully applied double tracking effects they deliver a set of intriguingly re-constructed standards along with originals and contrafacts by the leader.
Having at some point in his career received lessons from Bill Evans, it is appropriate that LaVerne should include material by his one-time mentor; they begin with `Waltz for Debby` which Brock invests with a minor-key pensiveness before building to a gentle multi-tracked climax. LaVerne’s pianism is impeccable with judiciously applied chord mutations, chromatic excursions and re-harmonisation rendering the familiar piece in a new light without detracting from its melodic integrity, an approach to improvisation which informs his playing throughout the entire set.
They follow with the first of the contrafacts. `Retroactive` is a re-working of `Softly as in a Morning Sunrise` which is given a modal feel, Brock taking on the slightly acidic tone associated with that other jazz violin master, Jean Luc Ponty. From here the mood varies as they proceed through a lively `Autumn Leaves`, in which the violin is featured soloing alone against bass and drums, followed by ‘Vignette` (aka `The Song is You`) skipping between waltz time and 4/4 with more multi-tracked violin imparting a distinctly `Palm Court` flavour. The underpinnings of the jazz standard `Solar`, itself based on `How High the Moon`, provides the framework for `Lunar`, a sprightly workout which elicits a vigorous response from all and the recital proceeds with stimulating versions of `My Foolish Heart`, All The Things You Are` and `Stella by Starlight`, all containing arresting variations as well as passages of limpid beauty.
The disc winds up with the title track, perhaps the most interesting piece of the album. `Rhapsody` puts one in mind of the music of the Romanian composer, George Enesco with its passionate Klezmer like intensity, tempered and refined by some mellow multi-tracked cello passages from the bassist and titillated by quadruple-time brushwork making for a combination that defies easy categorisation but remains identifiable as chamber jazz of considerable sophistication.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
