Blooming Tall Phlox
Ron Schepper for Textura
Yelena Eckemoff Quintet: Blooming Tall Phlox
L&H Production
Yelena Eckemoff Quintet: In the Shadow of a Cloud
L&H Production
Every artist’s story is unique, though the evidence suggests Yelena Eckemoff’s is more unusual than most. As a young girl growing up in Moscow, she received extensive training in piano and music theory, studied with some of the country’s greatest teachers (Anna Pavlovna Kantor, for example, who also taught Evgeny Kissin), and, after eventually acquiring her Master’s Degree in piano performance and pedagogy, taught piano herself when not playing concerts and writing music. Her life underwent a dramatic change in 1991, however, when she, with her husband, emigrated to the US and subsequently self-released albums of classical, vocal, folk, and religious music. Another pivotal moment arrived in 2009 when she recorded her first jazz album, Cold Sun, with drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Mads Vinding, and in the years since a remarkable string of releases has appeared featuring Eckemoff working with Mats Eilertsen, Marilyn Mazur, Mark Feldman, Arild Andersen, Billy Hart, and others.
While many of her releases are trio dates, two recent small ensemble sets offer a fascinating study in comparison and contrast. The similarities first: both are double-CD affairs that complement Eckemoff’s compositions with poems (one per composition) and paintings by the pianist; both also appear on L&H Production, the label she co-founded and the central outlet for her music. Blooming Tall Phlox and In the Shadow of a Cloud are different, however, in other respects: Eckemoff’s joined by young Finnish lions on the former (trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, vibraphonist Panu Savolainen, bassist Antti Lötjönen, drummer Olavi Louhivuori) whereas New York musicians appear on the latter (woodwinds player Chris Potter, electric guitarist Adam Rogers, double bassist Drew Gress, drummer Gerald Cleaver); conceptually, the two releases differ, too: recorded in Finland in 2013, Blooming Tall Phlox draws for inspiration from scents from Eckemoff’s Russian childhood; In the Shadow of a Cloud deals with evocation also, though in this case it’s places and experiences associated with the life she left behind when she emigrated to North Carolina. Given such details, it shouldn’t surprise that stylistically the tone is different on the recordings, with Blooming Tall Phlox vividly impressionistic in contrast to the more directly melodic and robust In the Shadow of a Cloud.
As also should be obvious, both projects are intensely personal in nature; Eckemoff is anything but a hands-off producer. Yet despite the extreme degree of control she exercises over the recording projects, she doesn’t micro-manage those who accompany her on the sessions. She selects her personnel with care, knowing that once the players are clued in to the project and familiarized with the material she’s written for it, they’ll rise to the occasion and put their own personal stamp on it.
Her playing is distinct, too. Unlike many a pianist who during a formative period absorbs jazz’s traditions in the hope of gradually joining the club, Eckemoff came to jazz in circumlocutory manner, with many years of committed classical playing preceding the shift. As a result, her playing in a jazz context is distinguished by a refined touch that bolsters the music’s distinctive blend (Rogers astutely notes, “Yelena’s music is … different from a normal jazz record because it’s more through-composed, but I wouldn’t describe it as being a ‘classical-jazz’ hybrid record, because it sounds more like she’s assimilated these influences and is expressing them in an already very processed way, processed in a really good way.”) Interestingly, her playing doesn’t dazzle the listener with ecstatic expression; instead, she weaves herself into the performance, her contributions always mindful of the compositional structure in play. She’s a thoughtful player, in other words, who doesn’t feel the need to dominate the proceedings but instead tastefully enhance it.
In keeping with its olfactory theme, Blooming Tall Phlox subdivides into two parts, “Summer Smells” and “Winter Smells,” the song titles in each section directly referencing the memory trace Eckemoff drew upon for their creation. The material’s impressionistic character is established immediately when Louhivuori sprinkles the title track’s intro with percussive bells and cymbal shadings, the pianist following his lead with her own textural contributions. The compositional shape thereafter comes into focus with Pohjola’s entrance, as Lötjönen anchors the group and Savolainen adds his own bright flourishes. That somewhat metre-free opening is nicely followed by “Apples Laid Out On the Floor,” which, powered by the bassist’s walking and the drummer’s flow, swings by comparison and boasts rousing solos by the leader, vibraphonist, and bassist. Among the strongest pieces are “Fish Fried On Open Fire,” due to a wistful theme voiced with conviction by Pohjola and strong support by Louhivuori, and “Talks Over Hot Tea,” thanks to some of the trumpeter’s boldest playing and an uplifting performance by the quintet. Elsewhere, a subtle hint of “Someday My Prince Will Come” is intimated by the melodic progression of “Clementines and Candies on Christmas Tree,” while a trace of R&B sneaks into the relaxed swing of “Aunt Galya’s Perfume.”
The five deliver strong ensemble performances throughout, each one emblematic of attentive listening and sensitive connection. The impression left is of group interplay where each player’s contributions are integral. Do the performances replicate in musical form the scents associated with a bread store, pine needles, wildflower meadows, and an aunt’s perfume? As much, perhaps, as they can when instrumental playing’s involved; at the very least, one can say that Eckemoff’s settings are evocative, especially when Louhivuori functions as percussionist as much as drummer and when Pohjola, muted and otherwise, and Savolainen consistently bring rich texture to the playing.
On In the Shadow of a Cloud, the Finnish musicians’ American counterparts—woodwinds and guitar replacing the trumpet and vibes as lead voices—prove to be as strong a fit for Eckemoff’s music; in fact, the fit might be even better for the way their performances lend her compositions such striking immediacy and help the music communicate so forcefully. As mentioned, the release shares with Blooming Tall Phlox a nostalgic dimension, though this time the scent-based concept expands to memories of places and things experienced during her life in Russia. The playing is so seamless, it’s hard to believe that the sessions for the date were the first time the five had played together, even if Eckemoff’s collaborators had performed together in various permutations before the December 2016 recording date. All five acquit themselves admirably, though special mention must be made of Potter, whose contributions stand out for the many timbres his tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, and bass clarinet bring to the material.
Like Blooming Tall Phlox, a number of pieces stand out as particularly memorable, the opening title track certainly one. In a full-bodied, vibrato-tinged tenor, Potter voices the pleading eight-note theme first, after which it’s repeated by Eckemoff and Rogers, each partner contrapuntally shadowing another’s utterance and sometimes voicing it in unison. Whereas Cleaver and Gress provide a free-floating base in this piece for the others’ musings, their grounding is solidly defined in the subsequent “Saratovsky Bridge,” which again sees Potter clarifying the material’s shape with a forceful articulation of its melodies and delivering a muscular solo as well. Joining him on the front-line are Rogers and Eckemoff, the former opting for elegant, abrasion-free fluidity and the latter enriching the pieces with solos ever connected to the composition out of which they grow.
Not surprisingly, the performances often convey in musical form the tone of the composition as suggested by its title. The relaxed flow of “Waters of Tsna River” is conveyed not only by Potter’s flute and Eckemoff’s lightly swinging solo but by Cleaver’s confident handling of the tune’s 5/4 time. “On the Motorboat,” on the other hand, moves briskly, the image quickly forming of Eckemoff and family cruising down the waterways on a gorgeous summer’s day and feeling the cool wind in their faces. With many of renderings delicate in tone (“Acorn Figurines,” on which the leader delivers one of her most appealing solos, and “Hammock Stories,” a lovely ballad featuring a strong thematic statement by Potter), the uptempo performances stand out for being modest in number. The second disc’s breezy opener “Picnic in the Oaks” sees Eckemoff and company digging into a bluesy, half-speed swing like they were born to it, with all four—Potter sitting this one out and Rogers stepping out forcefully in his absence—riffing memorably on the changes. More rhythmically emphatic is “Vision of a Hunt,” which also offers a rare sampling of Potter’s bass clarinet playing.
As full an Eckemoff portrait as these releases provide, they’re not the whole picture; no doubt she assumes a more dominant role as a player on the trio recordings than she does as a quintet member; one also expects that her playing figures even more prominently on Colors, her upcoming release with drummer Manu Katché. Blooming Tall Phlox and In the Shadow of a Cloud nonetheless provide a sterling survey of her artistry, especially when her talents as a musician, composer, producer, and conceptualist are showcased so thoroughly.

Farne for Musica Jazz
edited by Alessandro Manitto -04/09/2019
Eckemoff is an established Finnish pianist and composer with at least a dozen cds in her name, along with prestigious members of both Scandinavian and US jazz musicians, but who, to deal with this double album, are attracted by young compatriots. In addition to composing all the pieces, she also wrote the autobiographical and delicate testo-poetics accompanying each title, she painted the three idiosyncratic images embedded in the cover, the vaguely impressionist flavor a bit naif and vaporous. Each piece is devoted to scents, linked to various personal experiences: the first cd perfumes of the summer, in the second of the winter. This results in a coherent work that is carried out with moderate meditation, with dreamlike views, but also with great determination. The “shelled grizzled” and crystalline touch of the leader is complemented by that of vibraphone, which gives the prevalent color, but the instrumental voice closer to that of Pohjola, whose shrewd tone and the melancholy and languorous loudness are enriched with more inspired cues with choked notes and blow. His style is obviously influenced by Tomasz Stanko, but ultimately it is all the quintet’s music to remind the world of the Polish trumpeter. The coherence and consistency of the articulated project can not, however, prevent the repetition of certain situations.
Original Italian:
a cura di Alessandro Manitto -04/09/2019
Eckemoff è un’affermata pianista e compositrice finlandese con almeno una decina di cd a suo nome, assieme a prestigiosi esponenti del jazz scandinavo oppure statunitense ma che, per affrontare questo doppio album, si attornia di giovani connazionali. Oltre ad aver composto tutti i brani, ha anche scritto gli autobiografici e delicati testi poetici che accompagnano ogni titolo e ha dipinto le tre idilliache immagini inserite nella copertina, dal vago sapore impressionista un po’ naïf e vaporoso. Ogni brano è dedicato a profumi, collegati a diverse esperienze personali: nel primo cd i profumi dell’estate, nel secondo quelli dell’inverno. Ne risulta un lavoro coerente, che si dipana con pacata meditazione, con scorci onirici ma anche molta determinazione. Al tocco sgranato e cristallino della leader si affianca quello del vibrafono, che dà il colore prevalente, ma la voce strumentale che più avvince è quella di Pohjola, il cui timbro screziato e il tono malinconico e disteso si arricchiscono di spunti più mossi con note strozzate e soffiate. Il suo stile risulta evidentemente influenzato da Tomasz Stanko, ma in definitiva è tutta la musica del quintetto a richiamare alla mente il mondo del trombettista polacco. La coerenza e la consistenza dell’articolato progetto non riescono tuttavia a evitare la ripetitività di alcune situazioni.

Reinhard Koehl for Jazzthing, September – October issue
Title: Wonderful group of youngsters
Writing songs, accompanying them, shaping, recording, producing, and surprising people with constantly new music, and to be not overwhelmed by repeating it ten times in six years: this is why it is not exaggerating to call Yelena Eckemoff a workaholic. Right now her fans are happy about “Blooming Tall Phlox’ (L H Production / in-akustik) and at her refreshingly different approach to the noble art of Writing Notes down.
The pianist who was born in Moscow and has been living in the USA since 1991, assigns each song a unique odor. The title is ‘Apples Laid Out On The Floor’ or ‘Fish Fried On Open Fire’, which she brings out with fantastic Finnish crew including drummer Olav Louhivuori. And then there is her next project in the pipeline, which is to appear in the fall ‘In The Shadow Of A Cloud’ with a lot of American competent players Chris Potter, Adam Rodgers, Drew Gress and Gerald Cleaver.
Here Yelena Eckemoff decorates the pieces with her own poems. “I am not a professional poet. But I believe that these poems will help to understand the music better.” A mini-catalog of her own indie label already announces the following small pieces of magic. In the spring of 2018 “Colors” will appear with Manu Katche, later in the year the songs and instrumental versions of Psalms “Better Than Gold And Silver” with Ralph Alessi, Ben Monder and Joey Baron, as well as in 2019 “Desert” with Paul McCandless, Arild Andersen and Peter Erskine, all already recorded. “Every CD is my baby. I liked to be responsible for everything, not only to carry the baby out to term, but educate, inform, and dress.”
Original German:
Wundersame Kinderschar
Songs schreiben, aufnehmen, produzieren, sie begleiten, ausformen, die Leute mit standig neuer Musik uberraschen: Yelena Eckemoff einen Workaholic zu nennen, ist angesichts einer Quote van gleich zehn Alben innerhalb van sechs Jahren nicht ubertrieben. Gerade erst durfen sich die Fans uber “Blooming Tall Phlox” (L & H Production/in-akustik) und eine erfrischend andere Herangehensweise an die hehre Kunst des Notensetzens freuen.
Die in Moskau geborene und seit 1991 in den USA lebende Pianistin ordnet dabei jeden Titel einem eigenen Geruchsbild unter. Titel wie “Apples Laid Out On The Floor” oder ,”Fish Fried On Open Fire”, die sie mit einer fantasievollen finnischen Crew um Drummer Olav Louhivuori zum Duften bringt, sprechen dabei fur sich. Und dann ist da schon das nachste Projekt in der Pipeline, das im Herbst erscheinen soil: “In The Shadow Of A Cloud” mit geballter amerikanischer Kompetenz wie Chris Potter, Adam Rodgers, Drew Gress und Gerald Cleaver.
Hier schmuckt Yelena Eckemoff die Stucke rnit eigenen Gedichten. “Ich bin keine professionelle Dichterin. Aber ichglaube, dass solche Dinge helfen, die Musik besser zu verstehen.” Ein Minikatalog ihres eigenen Indie-Labels kundigt bereits die nachsten kleinen Zauberstuckchen an. Im Fruhjahr 2018 soil “Colors” mit Manu Katche erscheinen, im weiteren Verlauf des Jahres dann die Gesangs- und Instrumentalversionen van Psalmen “Better Than Gold And Silver” mit Ralph Alessi, Ben Monder und Joey Baron sowie 2019 “Desert” mit Paul McCandless, Arild Andersen und Peter Erskine. Alles schon aufgenommen. “Jede CD ist mein Projekt, mein Baby. Ich mochte fur alles verantwortlich sein, also das Baby quasi nicht blos austragen, sondern es erziehen, unterrichten und ankleiden.”
Christoph Giese for Medienhaus Bauer, Kultur
Approved.
Russian pianist Yelena Eckemoff stands out on their double CD ‘Blooming Tall Phlox’ that is located somewhere in between form and freedom. She plays with four Finns on CD of summer smells and on CD of Winter Smells. With much serenity and aesthetic expression, both silver discs tell their little musical stories.
Original German:
Ganz gelassen
Die russische Piantistin Yelena Eckemoff besticht auf ihrer Doppel-CD ,,Blooming Tall Phlox” (L&H, Klassik Center Kassel) mit Jazzmusik zwischen Form und Freiheit. Das mit vier Finnen eingespielte Werk bietet eine CD mit Sommerduften uncb eine mit ,,Winter Smells”. Beide Silberscheiben erzahlen mit viel Gelassenheit und asthetischem Ausdruck ihre kleinen musikalischen Geschichten.
Rainer Guerich for inMusic
The Russian pianist Yelena Eckemoff is known for her exceptional Piano Jazz albums. On her new double CD, she has now been influenced by feelings and observations of the summer (CD1) and the winter (CD2). This imaginative high-class jazz, together with her in quintet format, was realized with Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Panu Savolainen (vibraphone), Antti Lotjonen (bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums) Class!
Original German:
Die russische Pianistin Yelena Eckemoff ist bekannt fur ihre ausergewohnliche Piano Jazz-Veroffentlichungen . Fur ihre neue Doppel-CD hat sie sich nun von Gefuhlseindrucken und Beobachtungen des Sommers (CD1) und des Winters (CD2) beeinflussen lassen. Umgesetzt wwurde der einfallsreiche High Class Jazz zusammen mit ihrem Quintett um Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Panu Savolainen (vibraphone) , Antti Lotjonen (bass) und Olavi Louhivuori (drums). Klasse!
Robert Ratajczak for Long Play
For 25 years living and working in the USA, Russian pianist Yelena Eckemoff is a classically trained musician, with a perfect effect on the path of improvised music. The pianist’s work in the field of jazz music takes place according to strictly defined principles, free from influences of classic jazz keyboard masters, and showing her personal way of perceiving improvised music. The artist’s next albums recorded in compositions of world jazz stars in top US and European studios and produced by top sound engineers appear on L & H Production. All previously released albums are accompanied by colorful booklets with photos from the recording sessions, and recent albums also include poetry and oil paintings reproductions corresponding to music. There are musicians like Peter Erskine, Billy Hart, Ben Street, Morten Lund, Joe Locke and Tore Brunborg.
Outside of the US, Yelena Eckemoff often visits Europe, which results in unique projects. In the year 2015 we enjoyed her record in Norway in a quartet composed of the leading musicians (“Everblue.”) The new release of the pianist is a two-disc conceptual album, “Blooming Tall Phlox,” with recordings recorded this time in Finland. During the session held in September 2013 in Hollola, the artist was accompanied by: Verneri Pohjola (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mr. Savolainen (vibraphone), Antti Lotjonen (double bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums). Each of the two discs is a separate musical unit with its own title. The first disc is ” Summer Smells, ” the second is “Winter Smells.” Of course, all the compositions came from the pen Yelena Eckemoff, and the extensive aesthetic booklet attached to the publication, contains the beautiful lyrics of the pianist assigned to each song.
Piano and vibraphone work in harmony. The crystalline sounds of Mr. Savolainen’s instrument give Eckemoff works of exceptional space and subtle delicacy. Verneri Pohjola is one of the most brilliant young Finnish jazz musicians today. Well known in Poland (thanks to cooperation with RGG and Adam Bałdych,) his trumpet has a distinctive sound and unique way of intonation. Some of the songs collected on “Blooming Tall Phlox,” are impressive enough to be attributed to his style. This is the case for the beautiful theme of “Pine needles warmed by the sun” ending the “summer” album.
From the second album with a slightly different, cooler atmosphere, the special composition of “Grandpa Lera’s bookcase” is worth mentioning, full of phenomenal melody and soaked with the brilliant contras of Antti Lotjonen, who also plays well with arco.
Each album by Yelena Eckemoff impresses. Every one of them, however, shows another face of the Russian artist, so it is impossible to judge the album with one measure. “Blooming Tall Phlox,” just like the two years earlier, “Everblue” documents one of the Scandinavian episodes of the pianist. This time, however, we are dealing with music performed in a sitting comprised of young emerging stars of European jazz. It is worth remembering that the material comes from nearly four years ago, which, in view of the exceptional activity of the pianist, seems to be the whole age. In any case, loyal fans of the artist do not need to be persuade to this album, and participation in the recordings of Finnish jazz cream will make those discs also reach those who have not met the musical genius of Yelena Eckemoff.
Original Polish:
Od 25 lat mieszkająca i tworząca w USA rosyjska pianistka Yelena Eckemoff jest klasycznie wykształconym muzykiem, z doskonałym efektem stąpającym po ścieżce muzyki improwizowanej. Poczynania pianistki na polu muzyki jazzowej odbywają się według ściśle określonych przez nią zasad, wolnych od wpływów klasycznych mistrzów jazzowej klawiatury, a ukazujących jej osobisty sposób postrzegania muzyki improwizowanej. Kolejne albumy artystki nagrywane w składach złożonych ze światowych gwiazd jazzu w najlepszych studiach USA i Europy, a realizowane przez topowych inżynierów dźwięku ukazują się nakładem wytwórni L & H Production. Wszystkim dotychczas wydanym płytom towarzyszą kolorowe książeczki ze zdjęciami z sesji nagraniowych, a ostatnie albumy zawierają także wiersze kompozytorki i reprodukcje obrazów olejnych, korespondujące z muzyką. Na płytach tych pojawiają się tacy muzycy jak: Peter Erskine, Billy Hart, Ben Street, Morten Lund, Joe Locke czy Tore Brunborg.
Poza działalnością w USA Yelena Eckemoff często odwiedza Europę co każdorazowo skutkuje wyjątkowymi projektami. W roku 2015 cieszyliśmy się jej płytą nagraną w Norwegii w kwartecie złożonym z tamtejszych czolowych muzyków (” Everblue “).Nowe wydawnictwo pianistki to dwupłytowy koncepcyjny album: “Blooming Tall Phlox”zawierający nagrania zarejestrowane tym razem w Finlandii. Podczas sesji jaka odbyła się we wrześniu 2013 roku w Holloli artystce towarzyszyli: Verneri Pohjola (trąbka, flugelhorn), Panu Savolainen (wibrafon), Antti Lotjonen (kontrabas) i Olavi Louhivuori (perkusja). Każda z obu płyt stanowi osobną muzyczną całość o własnym tytule. Dysk pierwszy to “Zapachy lata” (” Summer Smells “), drugi: “Zapachy zimy” (” Winter Smells “). Oczywiście wszystkie kompozycje wyszły spod pióra Yeleny Eckemoff, a obszerna estetyczna książeczka dołączona do wydawnictwa, zawiera piękne teksty pianistki przypisane poszczególnym utworom.
Fortepian i wibrafon zamieniają się rolami pełniąc funkcję harmoniczną. Krystaliczne dźwięki instrumentu Panu Savolainena nadają utworom Eckemoff wyjątkowej przestrzeni i subtelnej delikatności.
Pełnią blasku lśni Verneri Pohjola, jeden z najbardziej błyskotliwych dziś młodych fińskich jazzmanów. Ten doskonale znany także w Polsce (m.in. dzięki współpracy z RGG i Adamem Bałdychem) trębacz dysponuje charakterystycznym brzmieniem i wyjątkowym sposobem intonacji. Niektóre z utworów zebranych na ” Blooming Tall Phlox “, robią wrażenie wręcz dedykowanych jego stylowi. Tak jest choćby w przypadku pięknego tematu ” Pine needles warmed by the sun “, kończącego “letnią” płytę albumu.
Z drugiego krążka charakteryzującego się nieco innym, chłodniejszym klimatem, na szczególną uwagę zasługuje kilkuczęściowa kompozycja “Grandpa Lera’s bookcase” , pełna zjawiskowej melodyki i nasączona genialnymi partiami kontrabasu Antti Lotjonena, doskonale grającego także technicą arco.
Każdy kolejny album Yeleny Eckemoff zachwyca. Każdy jednak ukazuje inne oblicze rosyjskiej artystki, dzięki czemu nie sposób oceniać te płyty jedną miarą. ” Blooming Tall Phlox “, podobnie jak wydany dwa lata wcześniej ” Everblue ” dokumentuje jeden ze skandynawskich epizodów pianistki. Tym razem jednak mamy do czynienia z muzyką wykonywaną w składzie złożonym z młodych wschodzących gwiazd europejskiego jazzu. Warto pamiętać, że materiał pochodzi sprzed blisko czterech lat, co wobec wyjątkowej aktywności pianistki zdaje się być całą epoką. Tak czy inaczej, wiernych fanów artystki nie trzeba do tego albumu przekonywać, a udział w nagraniach fińskiej śmietanki jazzowej sprawi, że po płyty te sięgną także ci, którzy do tej pory nie zetknęli się z muzycznym geniuszem Yeleny Eckemoff.
Mario Zillmer for Amazon.de
5.0 stars out of 5
Title: In the spirit of Sibelius? Jazz in Finland
Yelena Eckemoff has already proven many times that the jazz from Finland works well: poetic, somewhat melancholic, actually as the listener expected. This album is probably the most important album of her career as a composer and pianist. The seasons in Finland – as a very emotional theme, also already in the work of Jean Sibelius very foreground, – are very artistically interpreted on this album. For me – a very exciting and very valuable work of this formation. European jazz with the very many musicians with very nice and also new sounds in the music are an enrichment for every jazz lover. This album is highly recommended and, I mean it, a must for a discreet CD collection. The tip I had from the Jazzthing magazine. Have fun.
Original German:
5.0 von 5 Sternen
Im Geist von Sibelius? Jazz in Finland
Yelena Eckemoff hat schon mehrfach bewiesen das Jazz aus Finland gut funktioniert. Poetisch,etwas schwermütig,eigentlich wie der Hörer es erwartet. Dieses Album ist vermutlich das Wichtigste Album ihrer Karriere als Komponistin und Pianistin. Die Jahreszeiten in Finland als sehr emotionales Thema, auch schon im Schaffen des Jean Sibelius sehr vordergründig, wird auf diesem Album sehr ausgeprägt künstlerisch interpretiert. Für mich ein sehr spannendes und sehr wertvolles Werk dieser Formation. Europäischer Jazz mit den sehr Vielen Musikern mit sehr schönen und auch Neuen Klängen in der Musik sind eine Bereicherung für jeden Jazzliebhaber. Dieses Album ist sehr empfehlenswert und ich meine ein Muss für eine anspruchsvolle CD Sammlung. Den Tipp hatte ich aus der Zeitschrift Jazzthing. Viel Spaß.
Ulfert Goeman for Jazzpodium
“Blooming Tall Phlox” – tenth album within only six last years of the jazz pianist Yelena Eckemoff born in Moscow – was already listed in her catalogue for a while, but was held back by her. This was perhaps because of the fact that at the time of its recording she – a musician in her journey from Russia onto the Scandinavian countries to United States – was still not so well-known to jazz circles, so she’s chosen to release albums with more known fellow players first. But this does not mean that her album recorded 4 years ago in Hollola/Finland with a still young Finnish band needs to be less appreciated. While listening to this double CD one can imagine Eckemoff in the small Finnish community, about 15 km west of the city Lahti (best known for its ski jumper Janne Ahonen) standing near log house next to flowering Phlox, which one can see on the cover of the album, that she painted herself just as so many covers of her other albums. She is an artist who controls everything tightly, starting from the first meeting with musicians to the finished production. Her quintet at that time, Verneri Pohjola, flh, tp, Panu Savolainen, vib, Antti Lötjönen, b, and Olavi Louhivuori, dr, perc, spent three-day-long weekend together with the pianist, idea giver, and composer, sharing all their time in music with one another, resulting in recording of an immense laid-back and nevertheless deeply profound music, which was divided into a summer volume (CD 1: Summer Smells) and one „winter break-down “(CD 2: Winter Smells), a differentiation, that Eckemoff felt rather emotionally. It seems likely that she named the majority of the titles only later and divided them into these two volumes. The flower splendor on the cover is also reflected in the music for which Dan Bilawsky found rather impressive words to blurb: “Yelena quickly managed to create an enviable body of work that blends post-modern abstraction, classical thought, and jazz language into a seamless whole. There’s a fearlessness in her art (and that of her fellows) that’s not always addressed in discussion of her work.” Music, which one does not need to classify, which is individual, intelligent, full of surprises! She is a musician who puts her bandmates at ease and makes them nearly oblivious to surroundings and inspires them to form music that, while arising from almost informal meeting, deserves large audience.
Original German:
Als im vergangenen Jahr innerhalb von nur 6 Jahren die zehnte CD der in Moskau geborenen Jazzpianistin Yelena Eckemoff erschien, stand ihre gerade veröffentlichte Doppel-CD mit dem Titel „Blooming Tall Phlox” bereits in ihrem Katalog, wurde als Neuerscheinung aber noch zurückgehalten. Das lag vielleicht daran, dass die in einschlägigen Kreisen damals noch nicht so bekannte Musikerin auf ihrer Reise von Russland über die skandinavischen Länder nach Kanada und in die USA unter ihren Mitspielern zunächst die bekannteren Namen vorzog. Das aber keineswegs deshalb, weil sie die vor 4 Jahren in Hollola/Finnland entstandenen Aufnahmen mit einer damals noch jungen finnischen Band weniger schätzte. Man kann sich beim Hören dieser Doppel-CD lebhaft vorstellen, wie Eckemoff in der kleinen finnischen Gemeinde, etwa 15 km westlich der Stadt Lahti (bekannt für die Sprungschanzen und den Skispringer Janne Ahonen), jenes Blockhaus schätzte mit dem blühenden Phlox, das man auf dem Cover des Albums sieht, das die Pianistin wie so viele andere aus ihrer Produktion selbst malte oder gestaltete. Eine Künstlerin, die alles in ihrer Hand behält, vom musikalischen Treffen bis zur fertigen Produktion. Ihr Quintett von damals, Verneri Pohjola, flh, tp, Panu Savolainen, vib, Antti Lötjönen, b, und Olavi Louhivuori, dr, perc, spielte zusammen mit der Pianistin, Ideengeberin und Komponistin eine ungeheure relaxte und trotzdem tiefgründige Musik ein, die auf ein dreitägiges Vor-Wochenende zurückgeht, das die Fünf menschlich und musikalisch miteinander verbrachten, und sie ist gegliedert in eine sommerliche Phase (CD 1: Summer Smells) und einen „winterlichen Einbruch“ (CD 2: Winter Smells), einer Differenzierung, die Eckemoff eher emotional empfand. Jedenfalls scheint es wahrscheinlich, dass sie die Mehrheit der Titel erst später benannte und gliederte. Die Blütenpracht auf dem Cover spiegelt sich auch in der Musik, für die Dan Bilawsky auf dem Waschzettel eindrucksvolle Worte fand: „Yelena quickly managed to create an enviable body of work that blends post-modern abstraction, classical thought, and jazz language into a seamless whole. There’s a fearlessness in her art (and that of her fellows) that’s not always addressed in discussion of her work.“ Musik, die man nicht klassifizieren muss, die individuell ist, intelligent, voller Überraschungen! Eine Musikerin, die ihre Mitspieler inspiriert und die sie entspannt, fast selbstvergessen gestalten lässt, eine Musik, die sich bei einem fast zwanglosen Treffen einfach ergab und die verdientermaßen eine große Hörerschaft verdient.
Peter Bacon for London Jazz News
The Russian classical pianist, Yelena Eckemoff, now living in the U.S. and dedicating herself to jazz continues to forge a singular musical path – and a generous one, too, this being her 10th jazz release since 2010.
I have always found her approach intriguing because although she surrounds herself with jazz musicians and improvises herself, her way of structuring her music and indeed her own playing sounds much more aligned – at least to my under-educated ears – with classical composition than the Afro-American jazz conventions.
There has been increasing assuredness in this approach over those ten releases but its development is not quite so easy to articulate or illustrate because none has shared exactly the same personnel. The earlier albums were trio affairs, latterly the groups have expanded and diversified in instrumentation. Eckemoff’s choice in musicians is impeccable: Mats Vinding and Peter Erskine on her first jazz disc, Cold Sun, for example, with subsequent line-ups including, from this side of the pond, Morten Lund, Mats Eilertsen, Arild Andersen, Tore Brunborg and Jon Christensen; from the U.S. Billy Hart, Mark Turner and Joe Locke.
Last year’s Leaving Everything Behind was a deeply moving collection of pieces many of which were linked by loss – of childhood, of family, of homeland – all eloquently explored by Eckemoff with an all-American band of Mark Feldman on violin, Ben Street on double bass and Billy Hart on drums.
Blooming Tall Phlox – it’s hard to tell whether there is a joke there, whether the phlox are “bloody tall” as well as in bloom – changes the personnel again. It was recorded in 2013 in Finland with Eckemoff on piano and compositions, Verneri Pohjola on trumpet and flugehorn, Panu Savolainen on vibraphone, Antti Lötjönen on double bass and Olavi Louhivuori on drums and percussion.
There are two discs, the first subtitled Summer Smells, the latter Winter Smells, and the contrast between them is subtle but discernible.
Eckemoff always brings strong stories and imagery to amplify her instrumental music by including her own poems and paintings. And again, these poems link the world around her – flowers, smells, domestic life experiences – with memories, of an old world, a previous life, so giving them history along with the currency, and a certain poignancy is thus never far beneath the surface.
Titles include Smoke From The House Chimneys In Frosty Air, Pine Needles Warmed By The Sun, Talks Over Hot Tea, Grandpa Lera’s Bookcase, Aunt Galya’s Perfume and Apples Laid Out On The Floor. The youthful Finns help the pianist/composer to realise these scenarios in sound, the music flowing in an out of the solos, the rhythms ebbing and flowing from laid back to restrained intensity. Some of it feels programmatic – the chilly tinkle of vibes and piano underneath the flugelhorn perfectly evokes smoke from chimneys and frosty air – while at other times Eckemoff is more oblique in her references.
A thoroughly absorbing couple of hours of beautifully conceived and sensitively played music. Do check this out and also Yelena Eckemoff’s back catalogue.