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Lerner, Marilyn: Arms Spread Wide (NoBusiness)

New York pianist Marilyn Lerner in a trio with Ken Filiano and Lou Grassi, instant compositions with great structure, virtuosity and melodic content.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Marilyn Lerner-piano

Ken Filiano-bass

Lou Grassi-drums, percussion


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UPC: 4771906003551

Label: NoBusiness
Catalog ID: NBCD5
Squidco Product Code: 12268

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2009
Country: Lithuania
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded February 20, 2008 at Acoustic Recording Studios, Brooklyn, NY by Michael Brorby. Mixed by Jim Clouse on April 10, 2008 at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"In recent years we have had a plethora, a myriad, some might even say a surfeit of recordings of this most "classic" of all jazz group formats. We've had it all, from virtuoso piano with "rhythm" to the most intricate interplay of three equal partners, the latter a fruit of the innovations instigated by the legendary Bill Evans Trio around 1960. (In order to counterbalance the fully deserved preponderance of Evans/LaFaro/Motian in this context, mention should be made of a remarkable, one-off recording made by that quiet revolutionary, that incessant explorer of sounds unknown, that singular yet underappreciated piano stylist, that universal musical genius, Duke Ellington, on September 17, 1962 in the unlikely company of the unruly, stunning virtuoso Charles Mingus and the deceptively quiet, yet unpredictable percussion master Max Roach. The resulting "Money Jungle" is one of the unsung masterpieces of piano trio playing beyond category.) So,why this recording?

Just above I wrote that "we've had it all." Or have we? In fact, one rarely traveled road within the piano trio realm of the past 50 years has been the one of completely free improvisation. Quite possibly, the "classic" status of this particular configuration might have worked as a deterrent. However, the three valiant souls on this most exciting recording were not to be intimidated. Instead, they bravely took up the double challenge of facing the great tradition of the piano trio within a totally free context.

I have always been a reluctant writer of liner notes because I am convinced that it is impossible to talk about music itself. We can merely hope to articulate our perceptions and feelings regarding this divine art. In addition, I am not at all sure if the people who listen to the music on this CD, that is, listeners familiar with the complexities and intricacies of free improvised music, really need or really want liner notes. So all this writer can hope for is to find some generous soul out there willing to devote a few minutes of precious time to reading, and ideally sharing, some necessarily subjective impressions.

From the word go, "Wild Analysis" inexorably draws the listener right into the middle of things, avoiding the all-too-frequently encountered pitfalls of a lot of free improvisation: No tentative groping about in the dark here! Instead, we get instant, vigorous, and true interaction, not mere articulation, a sure sign of three past masters at play, and a strong, daring opening statement.

"Nightwings" conjures up nocturnal sounds and visions, with Marilyn exploring the inside of the piano and Ken providing a yearning counterpoint.

"The Eternal Present" exerts a strong onward momentum within a very free framework, the music never losing its footing, its sense of direction and purpose. No mean feat! Here, Marilyn displays the same admirable qualities as her eminent compatriot, Paul Bley, who always knows where he is going, no matter how free the context is. And listen to Lou swinging his ass off without reverting to a straight 4/4!

"The Dance Within" is an exploration of subtlety, of minimalist shading, a study in pianissimo, a celebration of the beauty of acoustically created sounds, the lyrical highlight of the CD. Listen to Marilyn's crystalline, lambent, limpid tone, Ken's supple bass and Lou's light-as-a-feather percussion.

For me, "Skies Spin Round" is the nodal point of the disk, with all its different strands gravitating towards this spinning, revolving centre. Ostinatos develop into vamps that are drawn into a dizzying, hypnotic vortex. Amazing how clearly structured this wild spin is, with Marilyn, Ken, and Lou all strongly contributing to producing instant composition as opposed to an arbitrary free for all.

Coco Schulmann, a Jewish-German jazz guitarist who survived the Nazis, says it all in his autobiography Der Ghetto-Swinger. Eine Jazzlegende erzählt: "Once a man learns to swing, he can never march again." The same goes for the players in this trio, including the lady!

"Samphire" is a tasty pickle of slowly building tension, with tangy sonorities echoing off each other.

The brief, quiet piano/bass duo of "World of Shades" is the calm before the storm, leading up to the tempest of the penultimate track, with every one of the participants spreading their arms wide to embrace and respond to the others' ideas and thoughts. A prime example of reception and masterful, split-second response, this track is also a veritable tour de force of enormous, almost unbearable tension.

After this emotionally draining yet bracing experience, "The Skitterbug" is a marvelously quirky, laconic postlude that leaves you wanting more.

When Lou sent me the CD master, I was going through a personally very difficult time, and it is my sincere desire to extend Lou's wish to me to everyone listening to this wonderfully egoless yet coll ectively immensely powerful music: "It's my wish that you not only "like" the music but that it serves the higher purpose of soothing your spirit." Amen to that."-Werner Merz, from the liner notes


Artist Biographies

"Exhilarating jazz pianist/improviser Marilyn Lerner performs to acclaim internationally, from her native Montreal to Havana, from Jerusalem to Amsterdam and the Ukraine. Her groundbreaking recordings have garnered recognition, including "Best Western Jazz Recording 2004" for her "Special Angel" duo with legendary guitarist Sonny Greenwich.

Lerner's work spans the worlds of jazz, creative improvisation, klezmer and 20th century classical music. She composes for film, theatre, radio and television. She produced "Birds Are Returning", the first contemporary Canadian jazz recording to come out of Cuba, playing her compositions with greats Dafnis Prieto, Yosvanny Terry and Jane Bunnett.

Along with her innovative solo piano work, Lerner tours with The Queen Mab Trio (clarinettist Lori Freedman and Dutch violist Ig Henneman) across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Their fall 2006 European tour included the prestigious Wels XX Music Unlimited Festival in Austria. Marilyn also performs with Sonny Greenwich, the Mad Satie Trio (Andrew Downing, David Occhipinti), Nick Frasier and Matt Brubeck, Lou Grassi and Ken Filiano, and in the Jewish scene with Adrienne Cooper, Frank London, Alicia Svigals, From Both Ends of the Earth, and David Wall. She has appeared with Steve Lacy, Tito Puente, Michael Vatcher and Gerry Hemingway.

Lerner's original music has garnered the Montreal International Jazz Festival award for best composition. Her audio art collages have been broadcast internationally. A recent commission by CBC in honour of composer Dmitri Shostakovitch's 100th birthday entitled "Meditations on Mitya" was performed by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and in November 2006.

A prolific recording artist, her most recent work includes the independently produced "Romanian Fantasy", a solo recording of improvisations on traditional Eastern European Jewish music recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio at CBC Toronto, "Thin Air" (WIG) the Queen Mab Trio's new release based on Hector Berloiz' Queen Mab Scherzo, "Luminance" (Ambiences Magnetiques), solo improvised piano music using different microphone techniques, "Special Angel" (C.B.C. records), duo with jazz guitar legend Sonny Greenwich, and, with singer David Wall, "Still Soft Voiced Heart" (Traditional Crossroads), original settings of contemporary Yiddish poetry.

Lerner conducts workshops on improvisation and on Jewish music throughout North America, Europe and the former Soviet Union. Current projects include both a recording and performances of "Shake My Heart Like a Copper Bell", Lerner's contemporary Yiddish song cycle on the poetry of Anna Margolin, scored for piano, cello, clarinet and singer Adrienne Cooper, for which she received a Hadassah-Brandeis research award, ongoing collaborations with poet Patrick Friesen, a new trio project with cellist Matt Brubeck and drummer Nick Fraser and numerous solo concerts."

-Marilyn Lerner Website (http://www.marilynlerner.com/bio.html)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Ken Filiano performs throughout the world, playing and recording with leading artists in jazz, spontaneous improvisation, classical, world/ethnic, and interdisciplinary performance, fusing the rich traditions of the double bass with his own seemingly limitless inventiveness. Ken's solo bass CD, subvenire (NineWinds), received widespread critical praise. For this and numerous other recordings, Ken has been called a creative virtuoso, a master of technique ... a paradigm of that type of artist... who can play anything in any context and make it work, simply because he puts the music first and leaves peripheral considerations behind.

Ken composes for his quartet with Michael Attias, Tony Malaby, and Michael T.A. Thomspon; a collective with Attias and Tomas Ulrich; and for his decades-long collaborations with Steve Adams and Vinny Golia. His prolific output also includes performances and/or recordings with artists including Bonnie Barnett, Rob Blakeslee, Bobby Bradford, Taylor Ho Bynum, Roy Campbell, John Carter, Nels Cline, Alex Cline, Connie Crothers, Mark Dresser, Ted Dunbar, Marty Ehrlich, Giora Feidman, Bob Feldman, Eddie Gale, Georgian Chamber Orchestra, Dennis Gonzalez, Lou Grassi, Phil Haynes, Fred Hess, Jason Hwang, Joseph Jarman, Sheila Jordan (with the Aardvark Orchestra), Raul Juarena, Joe Labarbera, Joelle Leandre, Frank London, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Tina Marsh, Warne Marsh, Dom Minasi, Hafez Modirzadeh, Butch Morris, Barre Phillips, Don Preston, Herb Robertson, Bob Rodriguez, Roswell Rudd, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Ursel Schlicht, Paul Smoker, Chris Sullivan, Peeter Uuskyla, Fay Victor, Biggi Vinkeloe, Kenny Wessel, Andrea Wolper, Pablo Ziegler. With Tomas Ulrich, Elliott Sharp, and Carlos Zingaro, he is a member of T.E.C.K. String Quartet.

Ken has been a guest lecturer, performer, and workshop leader at institutions in the United States and Europe. He earned a MM from Rutgers University and is currently on faculty at Mansfield University."- All About Jazz

-Pi Recordings / All About Jazz (https://pirecordings.com/artist/Ken_Filiano)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Lou Grassi is internationally known for his work in both the traditional and the avant-garde jazz worlds. He has literally played from Ragtime to No-Time - he toured with Ragtime pianist Max Morath and is the leader of the Dixie Peppers. He has performed and/or recorded with a wide range of outstanding artists including Marshall Allen, Billy Bang, Borah Bergman, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, The Copascetics, James Garrison, Charles Gayle, Burton Greene, Urbie Green, Gunter Hampel, Johnny Hartman, Fred van Hove, Joseph Jarman, Sheila Jordan, William Parker, Perry Robinson, Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, and Mark Whitecage. Lou appears on more than 70 recordings including more than 30 as a leader or co-leader.

Lou has toured extensively, performing throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia and Central America. He has been a featured artist at numerous international festivals including The Stork Music Festival, NYC; The Vision Festival, NYC; The Texaco New York Jazz Festival, NYC; The Rochester Jazz Festival, Rochester, NY; Summer's End Music Festival, Middletown, CT; Rive de Gier International Jazz Festival, France; Festas Lisboa, Portugal; CAMP 99, Tubingen, Germany; The Guelph Jazz Festival, Canada, Festival Frei Improvisierter Music, Dresden, Germany, the WIM Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, The Hurta Codell Festival of Improvised Music, Madrid, Spain and Egdefest, Ann Arbor, MI He has also performed at Banlieues Bleues Festival, Paris, France; Luneburg Jazz Nights, Germany; The Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, NYC and The International Dixieland Festival of Dresden, Germany."

-Lou Grassi Website (http://www.lougrassi.com/LouGrassiShortBio.html)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Wild Analysis 6:24

2. Nightwings 5:26

3. The Eternal Present 10:25

4. The Dance Within The Game 3:51

5. Skies Spin Round 9:37

6. Hommage À Coco Schulmann 7:55

7. Samphire 6:32

8. World Of Shades 2:47

9. Arms Spread Wide 9:36

10. Skitterbug 2:16

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
Piano Trio (Piano Bass Drums)

Search for other titles on the label:
NoBusiness.


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