STEVE KUHN / SHEILA JORDAN BAND - Playground
ECM 1159 Recorded July 1979
Side 1) Tomorrow's Son 8m 58s, Gentle Thoughts 7m 22s, Poem For No 15, 7m 08s
Side 2) The Zoo 4m 32s, Deep Tango 10m 41s, Life's Backward Glance 5m 53s
Steve Kuhn (pno) Shelia Jordan (vcl) Harvie Swartz (bs) Bob Moses (drs)
Back in 1980 I knew who Steve Kuhn and Shelia Jordan were, but did not process any of their recordings. I clearly remember being drawn to the disc by the cover, which is a picture by the American street photographer Joel Meyerowitz. As you can see it just a timeless image that truly reflects the title of the album. ECM used Joel's skills many times over a decade or so, but of course those were the days when this most iconic record label still used colour!. It is very easy to be drawn into the conclusion, as I was at the time, that this is a Shelia Jordan record with The Steve Kuhn Trio. Nothing could be further from the truth. Firstly all the compositions, both words and music are by the pianist and secondly the vocal content, although present on every track, takes up less than fifty percent of the album's forty five minute playing time.
Steve Kuhn is 82 years of age now, living in New York and understandably is no longer active on the scene. During his career he has played on over one hundred albums, over thirty two of which have been under his own name. Among his collaborators have been, Ornette Coleman, Stan Getz and Oliver Nelson. An inventive improviser, he has also had the capability of drawing on great lyricism where appropriate. Among the crowded field of US jazz pianists over the past five decades or so, perhaps he has not enjoyed all the accolades that his talents deserved. The wonderful Shelia Jordan has just been touring the UK at the great age of 90. She has had a marvelous career, from her early days studying under Lenny Tristano and Charles Mingus, her great friendship with Charlie Parker, being crowned as one of the finest of the Be-Bop female singers alongside Betty Carter to the numerous great albums and live performances she has given us over many decades. Quite justifiably she has received many industry awards over many years. For this recording made some forty years ago, these two giants were joined by bassist Harvie Schwartz who is also an arranger, producer and educator and these days trendily known as Harvie S and the prolific drummer Bob Moses, another who has also featured on over one hundred albums and in his hey day supported both Roland Kirk and Emily Remler.
There is some magnificent music within the grooves of this album, but it has to be said that almost all the lyrics deal with the darker side of the human experience in the same way as Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have. Above all it seems that the two leaders were made for each other. At times the piano is extremely strident, almost angry you could say. The opener "Tomorrows Son" is a good example of this where after a crystalline opening Steve Kuhn pounds the keys between Ms Jordan's vocals depicting the sadness and longing of a son prematurely lost. Bass and drums have their part to play as well, being totally in harmony with piano and voice, particularly on "Gentle Thoughts" a lyric which proves to be the total antithesis of the album title. "Poem For Number Fifteen" is virtually a continuation of the theme from track one with both the pianist and singer wringing out every available emotion from it. "The Zoo" at the beginning of side two became a regular piece in Shelia Jordan's concert repertoire and somewhat bucks the trend here with it's highly rhythmic performance from the piano which is able to stretch out almost throughout this the briefest track of the recording. The lengthy "Deep Tango " is the albums masterpiece with it's poly-rhythmic and multiple tempo approach of the trio interspersed with both straight ahead vocals and some of the most startling scat passages you are likely to hear. Remembering that both main protagonists were still around their forties at the time the closer "Life's Backward Glance" seems rather premature with it's profound lyric and general melancholy that contains the line "the end is never far behind"!.
This truly is a highly impressive piece of work and connects with the listener in a similar way to much of Billie Holiday's output. You may not be dancing down the street after your first listen to this album, but you may well return to it time and again, for many reasons as I have.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
ECM 1159 Recorded July 1979
Side 1) Tomorrow's Son 8m 58s, Gentle Thoughts 7m 22s, Poem For No 15, 7m 08s
Side 2) The Zoo 4m 32s, Deep Tango 10m 41s, Life's Backward Glance 5m 53s
Steve Kuhn (pno) Shelia Jordan (vcl) Harvie Swartz (bs) Bob Moses (drs)
Back in 1980 I knew who Steve Kuhn and Shelia Jordan were, but did not process any of their recordings. I clearly remember being drawn to the disc by the cover, which is a picture by the American street photographer Joel Meyerowitz. As you can see it just a timeless image that truly reflects the title of the album. ECM used Joel's skills many times over a decade or so, but of course those were the days when this most iconic record label still used colour!. It is very easy to be drawn into the conclusion, as I was at the time, that this is a Shelia Jordan record with The Steve Kuhn Trio. Nothing could be further from the truth. Firstly all the compositions, both words and music are by the pianist and secondly the vocal content, although present on every track, takes up less than fifty percent of the album's forty five minute playing time.
Steve Kuhn is 82 years of age now, living in New York and understandably is no longer active on the scene. During his career he has played on over one hundred albums, over thirty two of which have been under his own name. Among his collaborators have been, Ornette Coleman, Stan Getz and Oliver Nelson. An inventive improviser, he has also had the capability of drawing on great lyricism where appropriate. Among the crowded field of US jazz pianists over the past five decades or so, perhaps he has not enjoyed all the accolades that his talents deserved. The wonderful Shelia Jordan has just been touring the UK at the great age of 90. She has had a marvelous career, from her early days studying under Lenny Tristano and Charles Mingus, her great friendship with Charlie Parker, being crowned as one of the finest of the Be-Bop female singers alongside Betty Carter to the numerous great albums and live performances she has given us over many decades. Quite justifiably she has received many industry awards over many years. For this recording made some forty years ago, these two giants were joined by bassist Harvie Schwartz who is also an arranger, producer and educator and these days trendily known as Harvie S and the prolific drummer Bob Moses, another who has also featured on over one hundred albums and in his hey day supported both Roland Kirk and Emily Remler.
There is some magnificent music within the grooves of this album, but it has to be said that almost all the lyrics deal with the darker side of the human experience in the same way as Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have. Above all it seems that the two leaders were made for each other. At times the piano is extremely strident, almost angry you could say. The opener "Tomorrows Son" is a good example of this where after a crystalline opening Steve Kuhn pounds the keys between Ms Jordan's vocals depicting the sadness and longing of a son prematurely lost. Bass and drums have their part to play as well, being totally in harmony with piano and voice, particularly on "Gentle Thoughts" a lyric which proves to be the total antithesis of the album title. "Poem For Number Fifteen" is virtually a continuation of the theme from track one with both the pianist and singer wringing out every available emotion from it. "The Zoo" at the beginning of side two became a regular piece in Shelia Jordan's concert repertoire and somewhat bucks the trend here with it's highly rhythmic performance from the piano which is able to stretch out almost throughout this the briefest track of the recording. The lengthy "Deep Tango " is the albums masterpiece with it's poly-rhythmic and multiple tempo approach of the trio interspersed with both straight ahead vocals and some of the most startling scat passages you are likely to hear. Remembering that both main protagonists were still around their forties at the time the closer "Life's Backward Glance" seems rather premature with it's profound lyric and general melancholy that contains the line "the end is never far behind"!.
This truly is a highly impressive piece of work and connects with the listener in a similar way to much of Billie Holiday's output. You may not be dancing down the street after your first listen to this album, but you may well return to it time and again, for many reasons as I have.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
