Turgay Yalcin for Twitter
I discovered “Colors” after this album [“Lonely man and His Fish”] while drilling Eckemoff’s previous ones. Two names that can be considered misfit on paper have made great music.
Colors
Del Chelito for Preso Ventanilla
Pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff has produced a varied discography. But since her piano trio album “Lions” (L&H Production, 2015) she has tended towards larger ensembles. “Leaving Everything Behind” (L&H, 2016) and “Desert” (L&H, 2018) were quartets; “Blooming Tall Phlox” (L&H, 2017) and “In the Shadow of a Cloud” (L&H, 2017) were quintets; and “Better Than Gold And Silver” (L&H, 2018) was a sextet (plus two vocalists for the vocal versions). So this is a surprising move: a duet with drummer Manu Katché, a new collaborator and the only one on her discography to receive co-billing credit.
As always, the album has a theme: in this case it’s the colors, each track is assigned a title with a different tone. As the accompanying poems make clear, for Eckemoff colors have associations with specific life events, ranging chronologically from childbirth (white) to childhood (orange), pregnancy (blue), adulthood (red) and old age (gray). While composition is her primary focus, the sparse instrumentation inevitably focuses on her playing the piano. Recent projects have had such a stellar atmosphere that listeners could be forgiven for checking the credits to find out who plays the piano. At the very least, this album reestablishes Eckemoff’s central role as a pianist and as a songwriter.
“White” is a smooth opening, impressionistic piano accompanied by light brushes and cymbals. “Orange” is warmed up by blues piano and powerful rock drums, and “Green” continues the fast-paced feel (along with a lyrical introspection section). The duo achieves a full sound: Eckemoff’s piano writing includes enough bass register to do that when needed, and Katché can sound like a full percussion section (“Violet” is a good example of this).
The long track “Blue” (dealing with the calm of the lake and blue skies, not the sadness that color might suggest) is a good example of the sectional and structural compositions often applyed for her group projects. Here only the two musicians present a series of mostly contemplative moods, with a couple of recurring contrasting vivacious sections. “Gray” is a rubato rumination on old age, piano only during the first third before the light percussion is incorporated. Closing track, “Black” evokes only the darkness of night and sleep, a gentle meditation that completes the circle of the new day in the accompanying poem.
Colors is an exceptional addition to Yelena Eckemoff’s discography, and a very clear image of her compositional and piano talents, with all the extras removed. Manu Katché’s contribution bears the hallmarks of his style: tonal color, invention and his inimitable groove. It’s no wonder Eckemoff chose to play live gigs supporting the release, as piano solo, rather than using another drummer.
Source for review: Mark Sullivan for https://www.allaboutjazz.com/colors-yelena-eckemoff-l-and-h-production-review-by-mark-sullivan.php
Note: Yelena Eckemoff is a Russian pianist living in New York since 1991. Classically trained, after ten albums she released her first jazz album in 2009 with Peter Erskine and since then has collaborated with many musicians. Manu Katché is well known in MQC / PV for his jazz records for the ECM label, but he is more so, fundamentally, for having been a crucial part of the Peter Gabriel sound in the golden age of “So”. Eckemoff and Katché brought together talents and sensibilities at La Buissonne studios in Perne-les-Fontaines (home to exquisite music) and in a couple of days they recorded Colors. Eckemoff creates musical impressions of 14 different tones, organizing them in a symbolic progression through the stages of life, using various styles. In this regard, Eckemoff clarifies: “Ultimately, everything is filtered through my internal feelings and expressed through melody and harmony, but this is not about me. I deliberately avoided any autobiographical references. It is about the average course of the life of any person.” Katché’s remarkable individuality made him a natural candidate for the project. “He’s always looking for rhythms, whereas my music is a combination of structured and improvised approaches,” says Yelena. “This was exactly what I wanted: the wonderful spicy drums that would be a world unto themselves and not just follow the piano. I felt the closeness of our souls,” she says,” and I thought it would be a pleasant and exciting challenge to make this record with him.” Highly recommended.
Original Spanish:
La pianista y compositora Yelena Eckemoff ha producido una discografía variada. Pero desde su álbum de trío de piano “Lions” (L&H Production, 2015) ha tendido hacia conjuntos más grandes. “Leaving Everything Behind” (L&H, 2016) y “Desert” (L&H, 2018) fueron cuartetos; “Blooming Tall Phlox” (L&H, 2017) e “In the Shadow of a Cloud” (L&H, 2017) fueron quintetos; y “Better Than Gold And Silver” (L&H, 2018) fue un sexteto (más dos vocalistas para las versiones vocales). Así que este es un movimiento sorprendente: un dúo con el baterista Manu Katché, un nuevo colaborador y el único en su discografía que recibe crédito de co-facturación.
Como siempre, el álbum tiene un tema: en este caso son los colores, a cada pista se le asigna un título con un tono diferente. Como dejan claro los poemas que lo acompañan, para Eckemoff los colores tienen asociaciones con eventos específicos de la vida, que van cronológicamente desde el parto (blanco) hasta la infancia (naranja), el embarazo (azul), la edad adulta (rojo) y la vejez (gris). Si bien la composición es su enfoque principal, la escasa instrumentación se centra inevitablemente en su interpretación del piano. Los proyectos recientes han tenido una atmósfera tan estelar que se podría perdonar a los oyentes que verificarán los créditos para averiguar quién toca el piano. Como mínimo, este álbum restablece el papel central de Eckemoff como pianista y como compositora.
“White” es una apertura suave, piano impresionista acompañado de pinceles y platillos ligeros. “Orange” se calienta con un piano de blues y una potente batería de rock, y “Green” continúa la sensación de ritmo acelerado (junto con una sección de introspección lírica). El dúo logra un sonido completo: la escritura para piano de Eckemoff incluye suficiente registro de bajo para cumplir esa función cuando es necesario, y Katché puede sonar como una sección de percusión completa (“Violet” es un buen ejemplo de esto).
La pista larga “Blue” (que trata sobre la tranquilidad del lago y de cielos azules, no la tristeza que el color podría sugerir) es un buen ejemplo de las composiciones seccionales y compuestas a menudo ensayadas por sus proyectos grupales. Aquí solo los dos músicos presentan una serie de estados de ánimo en su mayoría contemplativos, con un par de secciones vivaces contrastantes recurrentes. “Grey” es una rumia rubato sobre la vejez, piano solo durante el primer tercio antes de que se incorpore la percusión ligera. Más cerca “Black” evoca sólo la oscuridad de la noche y el sueño, una meditación suave que completa el círculo del nuevo día en el poema que lo acompaña.
Colors es una adición excepcional a la discografía de Yelena Eckemoff, y una imagen muy clara de su talento compositivo y pianístico, con todo lo extraño eliminado. La contribución de Manu Katché lleva las señas de identidad de su estilo: color tonal, invención y su inimitable groove. No es de extrañar que Eckemoff haya optado por tocar conciertos en vivo apoyando el lanzamiento en solitario, en lugar de utilizar otro baterista.
Fuente para la reseña: Mark Sullivan para https://www.allaboutjazz.com/colors-yelena-eckemoff-l-and-h-production-review-by-mark-sullivan.php
Apunte: Yelena Eckemoff es una pianista rusa que vive en Nueva York desde 1991. De formación clásica, después de diez álbumes lanzó su primer disco de jazz en 2009 con Peter Erskine y desde entonces ha colaborado con muchos músicos. Manu Katché es bien conocido en MQC/PV por sus discos de jazz para el sello ECM, pero lo es más, fundamentalmente, por haber sido parte crucial del sonido Peter Gabriel en la dorada época de “So”. Eckemoff y Katché unieron talentos y sensibilidades en los estudios La Buissonne de Perne-les-Fontaines (hogar de exquisitas músicas) y en un par de días grabaron Colors. Eckemoff crea impresiones musicales de 14 tonos distintos, organizándolos en una progresión simbólica a través de las etapas de la vida, valiéndose de diversos estilos. Al respecto Eckemoff aclara: “en última instancia, todo se filtra a través de mis sentimientos internos y se expresa a través de la melodía y la armonía, pero esto no se trata de mí. Evité deliberadamente cualquier referencia autobiográfica. Se trata del curso promedio de la vida de cualquier persona”. La notable individualidad de Katché, lo convirtió en un candidato natural para el proyecto. “Siempre está buscando ritmos, mientras que mi música es una combinación de enfoques estructurados e improvisados”, dice Yelena. “Esto era exactamente lo que quería: los tambores maravillosos y picantes que serían un mundo en sí mismos y no solo seguir el piano. Sentí la cercanía de nuestras almas”, dice, “y pensé que sería un desafío agradable y emocionante hacer este disco con él”. Muy recomendable.
Peter Dobšinský for SK Jazz
Composer and pianist Yelena Eckemoff !!!
“My albums are stories that need to be experienced with all the senses.” 03.02.2020
The pianist of Russian origin emigrated to the USA, where she is one of the most interesting and prominent personalities. In her music, she combines her experience with classical music and jazz. Her music is full of lyricism and emotions, while the compositions often illustrate a story. Her style could also be described as jazz impressionism. Interestingly, however, the turn to a jazz career came later in her career. However, she knew him musically earlier, and even met him in her youth while living in the Soviet Union, which not everyone was so lucky to have. She even performed in an experimental jazz-rock group. In an exclusive interview, she presented us with her musical development and experiences during her youth in her homeland and gave us her unique insight into her world of musical expression and composition.
* Is it true that you started to get more involved in jazz later in your career after working with Peter Erskine in 2009, when you released your first jazz album?
Yelena Eckemoff: “That’s not entirely true. Yes, it was my first jazz album and before that I was mainly focused on classical music, but I studied jazz when I was 20. I took interesting courses at the Moscow Jazz Studio, where we studied various evergreens and such.”
* How is it possible that something like that worked?
YE: “It was run as an experimental studio and it wasn’t that well known to the public. It had a semi-official status. But the interesting thing was that Dave Brubeck also appeared there and even had a few concerts.”*
* When did you first hear jazz music? I know from other Soviet jazzmen that they had trouble getting their hands on the recordings.
YE: “Records could be obtained and exchanged at various markets. However, I also came across the fact that in some music stores near our house they sometimes had small LPs of The Beatles. At that time, however, I was not very interested in jazz and popular music. I was interested in music and my art. I had been composing my own songs since I was 4 years old. One thing that contributed to the fact that I was familiar with such music is definitely that I moved at an elite music school and in the upper social classes. They did not try to brainwash us, we were protected from many things and we were luckier than some others. I got to the Moscow Jazz Studio itself through popular music. My friends showed me Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here. That intro stays harmonically in one position for a very long time and with my classical training it seemed absolutely boring. I couldn’t get it into my head what kind of music it was, I didn’t understand it. Then I realized that I guess if so many people think it’s good, the problem must be me, so I started to delve deeper into it, getting records, swapping cassettes, etc. Then I got into the Jazz Studio and there we started transcribing solos into sheet music. There I got acquainted with the predominantly bebop jazz scene. I started to be in a few bands. Of course I wanted them to play my music, since I composed. But my music was very difficult for them.”
* Were you already composing in the spirit of jazz at that time?
YE: “I don’t know what I composed, but I wouldn’t call myself a jazz composer. Of course, it probably belongs most in the jazz category – more than anywhere else. First and foremost, it’s music, music as I feel it and as I hear it. I studied all the famous composers. Among other things, Bach and Chopin greatly influenced my perception, so it’s not just about jazz. I had great piano teachers who were able to inspire me a lot. At the core of my music is emotion, but also gentleness. Some critics and listeners describe my music as lacking emotion, because it’s not explosive and I don’t play completely uninhibitedly or crazy. Some have the idea that it’s jazz, but the music doesn’t have to be so expressive to show emotion.”
* Were you closer to the aesthetics of rock and jazz then?YE: “Of course, because only when you are immersed in the music yourself, you devote yourself to it and play it, can you understand it.”
* You mentioned Bach several times, but I often get the impression from your music that the way you work with melody, colors and the band is more reminiscent of impressionism.
YE: “Yes. But I have never actually played so many impressionist composers on the piano. So that approach came naturally to me and not under the influence of any particular composer. It is a result of how I work with the piano and how I hear it.”
* Since you have classical training, I assume correctly that you also compose with a more traditional approach to music?
YE: “Yes, I write everything down in music notation and think about harmony and forms. The only thing I don’t write down specifically is the bass part, unless there is some counterpoint, imitation or something important in it. Of course, I don’t write out improvisations for anyone, but I finalize my solos for recordings, live it’s different. I prefer it when it’s a little bit thought out in advance and I don’t repeat myself like some jazz musicians who already have their established phrases and always play the same way. Thanks to that, I worked with drummer Billy Hart. After working with Peter Erskine, I approached him and sent him the recording. Later we talked on the phone and he asked me how much of what he heard on the recording would be in the recording session. Of course, I was afraid to tell him that almost everything, because it was thought out in advance. I thought he would say, oh, then it’s not jazz if it’s not improvised and goodbye. Well, but I couldn’t lie to him, so I told him that almost everything he hears would be there. He was suddenly excited about it. He liked that it sounded like jazz, but that I treated it like classical music. Jazz is not just an opportunity for improvisation. It’s also composed music, and Billy liked that. Then we worked on it three more times together. He’s amazing, but he’s very busy, and that’s why I stopped recording with him later.”
* Do you still have some songs from your childhood, do you go back to them?
YE: “Sometimes I use parts of my childhood songs, especially melodies.”
* How do you perceive modern jazz?
YE: “I don’t understand some jazz at all. Especially when it’s too much like the classical avant-garde. Why should jazz sound like that? To me, it’s sonically uninteresting and chaotic. I also like to improvise freely sometimes, and on an album too. But it’s strategically placed in the form. The whole song isn’t built on it, then it makes more sense. As a composer and producer, when I hear someone’s music, I often know how much better it would be if it were better organized into form. But of course it’s always different, sometimes it requires more notes, more thought and composed passages, and sometimes the opposite. Arild Andersen taught me to write more simply and sometimes leave more room for improvisation.”
* How do you work with music – is it primarily improvisation?
YE: “It usually starts as some melodic or harmonic theme that I have in my head. Then I either go to the piano or write it down straight away, but it doesn’t always come out as good as I imagined it would. And it’s not always worth working on it further. Of course, sometimes I play the piano and play something that interests me and I’m inspired by it. I usually work non-stop until I have something to write. When I’m creating, I can hear the improvisation in my head right away and I write it down here too. Composition is like slow improvisation and improvisation is like fast composition. Sometimes, when the piece is harmonically too complex, improvisation is done in a simplified way. It’s also my job as a producer to know what will be good to listen to and what is appropriate to use.”
* As a producer, do you feel that it is difficult to find an audience to buy CDs these days?
YE: “I only produce my own albums. Although we get offers to record for other CDs, I am not doing that yet, maybe in the future. But I think I would be a good producer for other artists. In terms of selling music, times are changing. Yes, CDs are not selling as much anymore, but we have options like Spotify. It doesn’t make as much money, but we have a greater opportunity to get our music to a wider audience. Sometimes people don’t want to pay for the whole CD, they don’t know if they will like it, but if they have paid Spotify, they can choose exactly what they like.”
* It’s interesting that you support this concept, because I’ve talked to many artists who are against this change in the market.
YE: “I understand them. In 2013, when I released Glass Song with Arild Andersen, the sales were still at a good level. Every day someone bought the CD, I just kept packaging it and sending it. But then the sales went down a lot, so I went to Spotify and I use it myself. I don’t mind how it works. Of course, you don’t get almost anything for one play, but you get a big audience. Thousands of new people from different countries of the world. It’s unimaginable. I think it has its positives. In some distant countries, people don’t get CDs so easily and this solves that problem. It helped me expand my listener base and I make money from it, so I’m not against it.”
* You also worked as a choir director and sang in a church choir for many years. Did it influence your compositional style?
YE: “Yes, I worked there for over 20 years, but I don’t think it influenced my composition in any way. I got into church music later – I grew up an atheist, but then I was captivated by church singing, where hundreds of people sing so passionately. In the church in America, I wasn’t so interested in it anymore, they didn’t sing in choirs – such elaborate pieces like Bach cantatas and the like.”
* I meant it more generally, because I feel that since you’ve been working with vocals for so long, your melodies have a strong melodic, vocal character, as if they could be sung.
YE: “In that case, yes. All my albums are like stories where the melodies sing something. I also write poems for several songs, which complement the music and songs and depict a complete story. However, the music is always primary. The poems come later or at the same time as I compose. I usually already have an idea in my head of what I am composing and what I want to write about, so it almost goes hand in hand. My albums mean a lot to me – it’s more than just the music itself. They are, as I say, stories that need to be experienced with all my senses. That’s why I paint the covers myself on several albums. Of course, I am a better musician than a painter, but it has meaning for me, even if not everyone always has to like it – it is my overall vision, how I see and hear it. I could pay painters and talented people, but then it wouldn’t be mine anymore.”
* Have you ever considered another label or having someone produce your album?
YE: “I was approached by Manfred Eicher from ECM Records once, but I didn’t want to. I respect everything he’s done and how many amazing albums he’s made, but it wouldn’t have been good for my music. I would have gotten more attention, but at what cost. I like to have everything under my control, from who I’m playing with, to how the album sounds, to what the songs are on it, to what the cover looks like. It would have disrupted my concept, my story!”
* On the Colors album you play as a duet, it was a bit different approach than we are used to with you. How did that change your composition and musical perception? I feel that the album is a bit more explicit, raw, rhythmic and energetic than others.
YE: “It has to do with the fact that I knew I would be playing with Manu Katche. When I write music, I try to think about who I will be playing with and that it brings out the best in that musician.”
* What are your plans for the future?
YE: “I have so many projects planned. That’s why it’s better if I manage everything myself, it would be very demanding. I have a new album Nocturnal Animals coming out, which we recently finished. Then I have a big project planned with Marilyn Mazur, which we recorded back in 2012. It will be released as a double album Fairyland. Then I plan to record music with Verneri Pohjola and several Finnish musicians and later I will do a solo album. And these are just some ideas out of many.”
Thank you for the interview!
Original Slovak:
Skladateľka a klaviristka Yelena Eckemoff !!!
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
„Moje albumy sú príbehy, ktoré treba prežiť všetkými zmyslami.“ 03.02.2020
Klaviristka ruského pôvodu emigrovala do USA, kde patrí medzi veľmi zaujímavé a popredné osobnosti. Vo svojej hudbe kombinuje svoje skúsenosti s klasickou hudbou a jazzom. Jej hudba je plná lyrizmu a emócií, pričom skladby často dokresľujú nejaký príbeh. Jej štýl by sa dal opísať aj ako jazzový impresionizmus. Zaujímavosťou je však, že obrat k jazzovej kariére nastal až neskoršie v kariére. Hudobne ho poznala však skôr, dokonca sa s ním stretla už v mladosti ešte počas života v Sovietskom zväze, čo nie každý mal také šťastie. Dokonca pôsobila v experimentálnej jazz-rockovej skupine. V exkluzívnom rozhovore nám predostrela svoj hudobný vývoj a zážitky počas mladosti v domovine a priblížila nám svoj jedinečný náhľad do jej sveta hudobného výrazu a kompozície.
* Je pravda, že ste sa začali viac zaoberať jazzom až neskoršie v kariére po spolupráci s Peter Erskineom v roku 2009, kedy ste vydali svoj prvý jazzový album?
Yelena Eckemoff: „Nie je to úplne celkom pravda. Áno, bol to môj prvý jazzový album a predtým som sa hlavne zameriavala na klasickú hudbu, ale jazz som študovala už keď som mala 20 rokov. Absolvovala som zaujímavé kurzy v Moscow Jazz Studio, kde sme študovali rôzne evergreeny a podobne.“
* Ako to je možné, že niečo také fungovalo?
YE: „Bolo to vedené ako experimentálne štúdio a nebolo to až tak verejne známe. Malo to polo-oficiálny status. Zaujímavosťou však bolo, že sa tam objavil aj Dave Brubeck a dokonca mal zopár koncertov.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Kedy ste počuli jazzovú hudbu po prvýkrát? Od iných sovietskych jazzmenov viem, že mali problém sa dostať k nahrávkam.
YE: „Nahrávky sa dali získať a vymieňať na rôznych trhoch. Stretla som sa však aj s tým, že v jednych hudobninách pri našom dome mali občas malé SP platne The Beatles. V tom čase som sa však o jazz a populárnu hudbu ešte veľmi nezaujímala. Ja som sa zaujímala o hudbu a svoje umenie. Skladala som si vlastné piesne už od 4 rokov. Jedna vec, čo prispela k tomu, že som takú hudbu poznala je určite to, že som sa pohybovala na elitnej hudobnej škole a vo vysokých spoločenských vrstvách. Oni sa nám nesnažili vymývať mozog, my sme od veľa vecí boli uchránení a mali sme väčšie šťastie ako niektorí iní. K samotnému Moscow Jazz Studio som sa dostala cez populárnu hudbu. Moji kamaráti mi ukázali Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here. Ten úvod ostáva harmonicky veľmi dlho v jednej polohe a mne s klasickým tréningom to prišlo absolútne nudné. Nevedela som to dostať do hlavy, že čo je to za hudbu, nerozumela som jej. Potom som si uvedomila, že asi keď si toľko ľudí myslí, že je to dobré, problém bude vo mne, tak som sa začala do toho hlbšie ponárať, získavať platne, vymieňať kazety a podobne. Potom som sa dostala do Jazzového štúdia a tam sme začali transkribovať do nôt sóla. Tam som sa zoznámila s prevažne be bopovou jazzovou scénou. Začala som pôsobiť v niekoľkých kapelách. Samozrejme som chcela, aby hrali moju hudbu, keďže som komponovala. Ale moja hudba bola pre nich veľmi zložitá.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Komponovali ste už vtedy v duchu jazzu?
YE: „Ja neviem čo som komponovala, ale nenazvala by som sa jazzovou skladateľkou. Samozrejme, patrí to asi najviac do kolónky jazz – viac ako hocikde inde. V prvom rade je to však hudba, hudba ako ju ja cítim a ako ju ja počujem. Ja som študovala všetkých slávnych skladateľov. Okrem iného aj Bach a Chopin veľmi ovplyvnili moje vnímanie, takže nie je to len o jazze. Mala som skvelých klavírnych učiteľov, ktorí ma dokázali veľmi inšpirovať. V jadre mojej hudby stoji emócia, ale aj miernosť. Niektorí kritici a poslucháči označujú moju hudbu, že nemá emóciu, pretože nie je výbušná a nehrám úplne odviazane až šialene. Niektorí majú predstavu, že to je jazz, ale hudba nemusí byť tak expresívna, aby ukázala emóciu.“
* Bola vám potom už estetika rocku a jazzu bližšia?
YE: „Samozrejme, pretože až keď ste sám ponorený v tej hudbe, venujete sa jej a hráte ju, až vtedy ju môžete pochopiť.“
* Spomenuli ste viackrát meno Bach, ale z vašej hudby mám častokrát dojem, že práca s melódiou, farbami a kapelou pripomína skôr impresionizmus.
YE: „Áno. Popravde však nikdy som nehrala na klavíri toľko impresionistických skladateľov. Takže ten prístup sa skôr u mňa vytvoril prirodzene a nie pod vplyvom nejakého konkrétneho skladateľa. Je to výsledok toho ako s klavírom pracujem a ako ho počujem.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Keďže máte klasický tréning, predpokladám správne, že aj komponujete skôr tradičnejším prístupom k hudbe?
YE: „Áno, všetko si vypisujem do nôt a premýšľam nad harmóniou a formami. Jedine čo nevypisujem konkrétne je basový part, iba ak sa v ňom nachádza nejaký kontrapunkt, imitácia alebo niečo dôležité. Samozrejme, ani improvizácie nerozpisujem pre nikoho, ale svoje sóla si finalizujem pre nahrávky, na živo je to potom iné. Ja mám radšej, keď je to dopredu trochu premyslené a neopakujem sa ako niektorí jazzoví hudobníci, ktorí majú už svoje zabehnuté frázy a stále hrajú rovnako. Vďaka tomu som však spolupracovala s bubeníkom Billy Hartom. Po spolupráci s Peter Erskineom som oslovila jeho a poslala mu nahrávku. Neskôr sme spolu telefonovali a on sa ma opýtal, že koľko z toho, čo počul na nahrávke bude aj na recording session. Ja som sa mu samozrejme bála povedať, že takmer všetko, pretože to je dopredu premyslené napísané. Myslela som, že povie aha tak to potom nie je jazz, keď to nebude improvizované a dovidenia. No, ale klamať som mu nemohla, tak som mu povedala, že tam bude takmer všetko to, čo počuje. Zrazu bol z toho nadšený. Jemu sa páčilo, že to znie ako jazz, ale že sa k tomu správam ako ku klasickej hudbe. Jazz nie je len možnosť k improvizácii. Je to aj komponovaná hudba a to sa Billymu páčilo. Potom sme spolu spracovali ešte trikrát. On je úžasný, ale veľmi vyťažený a preto som s ním neskôr prestala nahrávať.“
* Stále máte niektoré skladby z detstva, vraciate sa k nim?
YE: „Niekedy používam časti z mojich detských skladbičiek, najmä melódie.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Ako vnímate moderný jazz?
YE: „Niektorému jazzu vôbec nerozumiem. Najmä vtedy, keď sa ponáša príliš na klasickú avantgardu. Prečo by jazz mal tak znieť? Pre mňa je to zvukovo nezaujímavé a chaos. Aj ja rada občas voľne improvizujem a aj na albume. Ale ono to je strategicky vhodne umiestnené vo forme. Nie je na tom postavená úplne celá skladba, potom to dáva väčší zmysel. Ja častokrát ako skladateľka a producentka, keď počujem niekoho hudbu, tak viem, o koľko by to bolo lepšie, len ak by sa to lepšie zorganizovalo do formy. Ale samozrejme vždy je to iné, niekedy si to vyžaduje viac nôt, viac premýšľania a komponovaných pasáži a inokedy zasa naopak. Arild Andersen ma naučil písať jednoduchšie a nechávať niekedy viac priestoru pre improvizáciu.“
* Akým spôsobom pracujete s hudbou – je to prvotne improvizácia?
YE: „Väčšinou to začne ako nejaký melodický alebo harmonický námet, ktorý mám v hlave. Potom buď idem za klavír alebo to zapíšem rovno do nôt, ale nie vždy to vyjde tak dobre ako to znie v mojej predstave. A nie vždy sa s tým oplatí ďalej pracovať. Samozrejme, niekedy aj hrám na klavíri a niečo zahrám, čo ma zaujme a odrazím sa od toho. Väčšinou pracujem stále bez prestávky, až kým mám čo písať. Keď tvorím, počujem v hlave už rovno aj improvizáciu a aj tu si zapisujem. Kompozícia je ako pomalá improvizácia a improvizácia je ako rýchla kompozícia. Niekedy, keď je skladba harmonicky príliš zložitá, tak improvizácia sa deje na zjednodušený postup. Je to aj moja úloha ako producentky vedieť, čo sa bude dobre počúvať a čo je vhodné použiť.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Ako producentka máte pocit, že je v dnešnej dobe ťažké nájsť si publikum, ktoré si kúpi CD?
YE: „Ja produkujem len svoje albumy. Aj keď dostávame ponuky, aby sme nahrávali aj iným CD, ale to zatiaľ nerobím, možno v budúcnosti. Ale myslím si, že by som bola dobra producentka aj pre iných umelcov. Čo sa týka predaja hudby, doba sa mení. Áno CD nosiče sa už toľko nepredávajú, ale máme možnosti ako Spotify. Nezarobí to toľko, ale máme väčšiu možnosť dostať našu hudbu k širšiemu publiku. Ľudia nechcú niekedy zaplatiť za celé CD, nevedia, či sa im bude páčiť, ale ak majú zaplatený Spotify, môžu si vybrať presne, čo sa im páči.“
* Je zaujímavé, že sa tejto koncepcie zastávate, pretože som sa rozprával s mnohými umelcami, ktorý sú proti tejto zmene na trhu.
YE: „Ja im rozumiem. V roku 2013, keď som vydala Glass Song s Arild Andersenom, tak boli predaje ešte na dobrej úrovni. Každý deň niekto kúpil to CD, ja som ho len stále balila a posielala. Potom však išli predaje veľmi dolu, tak som išla na Spotify a aj ho sama používam. Mne to nevadí ako to funguje. Samozrejme, za jedno prehratie nedostanete takmer nič, ale získate potom veľké publikum. Tisíce nových ľudí z rôznych krajín sveta. Je to až nepredstaviteľné. Myslím si, že to má svoje pozitíva. V niektorých vzdialených krajinách sa ľudia nedostanú tak ľahko k CD-čkam a toto ten problém rieši. Mne to pomohlo rozšíriť poslucháčsku základnú a zarábam na tom, takže nie som proti tomu.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Dlhé roky ste pracovala aj ako vedúca zboru a spievala v kostolnom zbore. Neovplyvnilo to váš kompozičný rukopis?
YE: „Áno, pôsobila som tam vyše 20 rokov, ale nemyslím si, že to nejako ovplyvnilo moje skladanie. K cirkevnej hudbe som sa dostala až neskôr – vyrastala som ako ateista, ale potom ma uchvátilo chrámové spievanie, kde stovky ľudí spievajú tak zanietene. V kostole v Amerike ma to už potom až tak nezaujalo, oni nespievali v zboroch – tak prepracované skladby ako Bachove kantáty a podobne.”
* Myslel som to skôr všeobecne, pretože mám pocit, že keď ste tak dlho pracovali aj s vokálmi, že vaše melódie majú silný melodický, vokálny charakter, akoby sa dali spievať.
YE: „V tom prípade áno. Všetky moje albumy sú akoby príbehy, kde melódie niečo spievajú. Ja aj píšem ku viacerým skladbám poémy, ktoré sa dopĺňajú s hudbou a skladbami a vykresľujú kompletný príbeh. Hudba je však vždy prvotná. Poémy vznikajú neskôr alebo zároveň s tým ako komponujem. Väčšinou v hlave už mám predstavu čo skladám a o čom chcem písať, takže to ide takmer ruka v ruke. Moje albumy pre mňa veľa znamenajú – je to viac než len samotná hudba. Sú to ako hovorím príbehy, ktoré treba prežiť všetkými zmyslami. Preto si na viacerých albumoch aj sama maľujem obal. Samozrejme, som lepší muzikant ako maliar, ale má to pre mňa význam, aj keď sa to nie vždy každému musí páčiť – je to však celková moja vízia, ako to ja vidím a počujem. Mohla by som si zaplatiť maliarov a talentovaných ľudí, ale už to nebude potom moje.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Rozmýšľala ste niekedy nad inou spoločnosťou alebo že by vám niekto produkoval album?
YE: „Kedysi ma oslovil Manfred Eicher z ECM Records, ale nechcela som to. Rešpektujem čo všetko spravil a koľko úžasných albumov urobil, ale mojej hudbe by to neprospelo. Získala by som síce viac pozornosti, ale za akú cenu. Ja mám rada všetko pod svojou kontrolou, to s kým hrám, ako album znie, aké sú tam skladby, až po to ako bude vyzerať obal. Narušilo by to môj koncept, môj príbeh!“
* Na albume Colors hráte ako duet, to bol trochu odlišný prístup ako sme u vás zvyknutí. Ako to zmenilo vašu kompozíciu a hudobné vnímanie? Mám pocit, že ten album je trochu explicitný, surovejší, rytmický a energický ako iné.
YE: „To súvisí s tým, že som vedela, že budem hrať s Manu Katche. Keď píšem hudbu, snažím sa myslieť na toho, s kým to budem hrať a aby to dostalo z daného hudobníka to najlepšie.“
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko* Aké máte plány v budúcnosti?
YE: „Mám v pláne strašne veľa projektov. To je aj dôvod prečo je lepšie, keď si všetko manažujem sama, bolo by to veľmi náročné. Vyjde mi nový album Nocturnal Animals, ktorý sme nedávno dokončili. Potom mám naplánovaný jeden veľký projekt s Marilyn Mazur, ktorý sme nahrali ešte v roku 2012. Vyjde to ako dvojalbum Fairyland. Potom mám v pláne nahrávať hudbu s Verneri Pohjolom a viacerými fínskymi hudobníkmi a neskôr budem robiť sólo album. A to sú len niektoré nápady z mnohých.“
Ďakujeme za rozhovor!
Yelena Eckemoff © Patrick Španko
Peter a Yelena © Patrick Španko
Michael van Gee for Radio Dreyeckland
Now in front of me is the duo CD of pianist Yelena Eckemoff and drummer Manu Katché. The CD released by the label L&H Production is entitled “Colors” and was recorded in France in May 2017.
“Colors” is Yelena Eckemoff’s third album in just over 12 months. The recordings reflect not only the creative ambition of the Russian-born pianist and composer, but also her seemingly boundless imagination. And this time colours are at the centre of the music and Yelena Eckemoff has chosen a total of 14 different colours which she illuminates together with the magnificent drummer Manu Katché, including white, orange, violet, blue, red, grey and even black. Each of the 14 colours she interprets represents a different phase of life, with Yelena Eckemoff presenting her colour compositions chronologically. What distinguishes the whole CD “Colors” is the radiant lyricism, the orchestral verve and the subtle mixture of styles in her piano playing, which is shown to its best advantage here.
Listen to an excerpt from Yelena Eckemoff’s composition “Green” (6:10).
Original German:
3.) Nun liegt vor mir die Duo-CD der Pianistin Yelena Eckemoff und des Schlagzeugers Manu Katché. Die vom Label L&H Production veröffentlichte CD trägt den Titel „Colors“ und wurde im Mai 2017 in Frankreich aufgenommen.
»Colors« ist Yelena Eckemoff’s bereits drittes Album in etwas mehr als 12 Monaten. Die Aufnahmen spiegeln dabei nicht nur den kreativen Ehrgeiz der in Russland geborenen Pianistin und Komponistin wider, sondern auch ihre scheinbar grenzenlose Fantasie. Und dieses Mal stehen Farben im Mittelpunkt der Musik und Yelena Eckemoff hat insgesamt 14 unterschiedliche Farben ausgesucht, die sie zusammen mit dem grandiosen Schlagzeuger Manu Katché ausleuchtet, darunter die Farben Weiss, Orange, Violett, Blau, Rot, Grau bis hin zu Schwarz. Jede dieser 14 Farben, die sie interpretiert, repräsentiert eine andere Lebensphase, wobei Yelena Eckemoff ihre Farb-Kompositionen chronologisch darstellt. Was die ganze CD »Colors« auszeichnet, ist die strahlende Lyrik, der orchestrale Schwung und die subtile Mischung der Stile in ihrem Klavier-Spiel, die hier besser denn je zur Geltung kommen.
Hören Sie als Ausschnitt die Yelena Eckemoff Komposition „Green“ (6:10).
O’s Place Jazz Magazine
Eckemoff, Yelena
L&H Production, 2019, CD
Instrument: Instrumental
Issue: 25.1
Jazz Ruler Type: Ballads, Blues
Performance: 4
Sound: 3
O’s Notes: Russian composer and pianist Yelena Eckemoff teams up with drummer Manu Katche for“Colors, a collection of ballads and fresh mid-tempo tunes. Yelena’s music shows her strong classical roots blended with jazzy improvisation. This collection spans 80 minutes and fourteen selections, accurately depicted with various colors of the rainbow. There is great interplay between the duo and their music is refreshing, relaxing and enjoyable.
Rainer Guerich for inMusic, issue 105 June/ July 2019
The Russian pianist Yelena Eckemoff is known for her expressive piano playing and her picturesque piano jazz compositions. She recorded the 14 tracks of her latest CD together with the famous French percussionist Manu Katche (Peter Gabriel, Sting). The result is an absolutely recommendable duo recording, which convinces with its tonal colour spectrum and its melody/harmony feeling. The CD was recorded in the Studios la Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines in Provence and meets audiophile requirements.
Original German:
Die russische Pianistin Yelena Eckemoff ist bekannt für ihr ausdrucksstarkes Pianospiel und ihre pittoresken Piano-Jazz-Kompositionen. Die 14 Tracks ihrer neuesten CD nahm sie zusammen mit dem bekannten französischen Schlagzeuger Manu Katche (u.a. Peter Gabriel, Sting) auf. Ergebnis ist eine absolut empfehlenswerte Duo-Einspielung, die durch ihr klangliches Farbenspektrum und ihr Melodie/Harmonie-Gefühl zu überzeugen weiß. Die CD wurde übrigens in den Studios la Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines in der Provence aufgenommen und genügt audiophilen Ansprüchen.
Anja Klein for Melodiva
Yelena Eckemoff is a bundle of musical energy, with “Colors” she releases her third album under her own label L & H Production within only 12 months. This time it’s a rather rare duet, piano with drums. She likes the way “… how a drum kit can create an ambience around the piano.” As a duet partner, she has chosen French drummer Manu Katché. Katché was instantly hooked on the idea when listening to her samples, also because such a project was a first for him. The idea of writing an album purely about colors and their musical effect is related to one of her previous albums. In “Blooming Tall Phlox” she has set her scent impressions to music, so she also worked in colors and decided to dedicate an independent project to them. To do this, she collected all kinds of information, filtered it through her emotions and then expressed it in melodies and harmonies. The pianist and composer born in Russia has put on such a color palette and made what she otherwise expresses in brush strokes on canvas (she is also a painter) audible. Each of the fourteen colors described on “Colors” represents a phase of life in chronological order. So, everything starts with “White” as the beginning of any existence. In the booklet, she also has a poem or a story dedicated to each color and so we learn about “White” the following: “The soul of the newborn is pure, like a white canvas stretched on a frame, waiting to be painted with paint.” It is deliberately not intended to be an autobiographical curriculum vitae, yet each title bears a very personal share of Eckemoff. In this way, each colour gets its own independent sound and allows the audience to participate in the composer’s impressions. Despite Eckemoff’s typical rich design, she has created a clear and comprehensible atmosphere that makes this album something extraordinary.
Original German:
Yelena Eckemoff ist ein musikalisches Energiebündel, mit „Colors“ veröffentlicht sie ihr drittes Album unter ihrem eigenen Label L&H Production innerhalb von nur 12 Monaten. Diesmal ist es ein eher seltenes Duett, Piano mit Schlagzeug. Ihr gefällt die Art und Weise, „…wie ein Schlagzeug ein Ambiente um das Klavier schaffen kann“. Als Duett-Partner hat sie sich den französischen Schlagzeuger Manu Katché ausgesucht. Katché war beim Hören ihrer Samples sofort angetan von der Idee, auch weil für ihn ein solches Projekt eine Premiere war. Die Idee, ein Album rein über Farben und deren musikalische Wirkung zu schreiben, steht in Bezug zu einem ihrer vorigen Alben. In „Blooming Tall Phlox“ hat sie ihre Geruchseindrücke vertont, dadurch arbeitete sie sich auch in Farben ein und beschloss, ihnen ein eigenständiges Projekt zu widmen. Hierfür sammelte sie alle Arten von Informationen, ließ diese durch ihre Gefühle filtern und drückte sie dann in Melodien und Harmonien aus. Die in Russland geborene Pianistin und Komponistin hat so eine Farbpalette aufgelegt und das, was sie sonst in Pinselstrichen auf Leinwänden ausdrückt (sie ist auch Malerin), hörbar gemacht. Jede der vierzehn auf „Colors“ beschriebenen Farben repräsentiert eine Lebensphase in chronologischer Reihenfolge. So beginnt alles mit „White“ mit dem Anfang jeglicher Existenz. Im Booklet hat sie jeder Farbe zusätzlich ein Gedicht oder eine Geschichte gewidmet und so erfahren wir über „White“ folgendes: „Die Seele des Neugeborenen ist rein (blank), wie eine weiße Leinwand, gespannt auf einen Rahmen, darauf wartend, mit Farbe bestrichen zu werden“. Es soll bewusst keinen autobiographischen Lebenslauf darstellen, dennoch trägt jeder Titel einen sehr persönlichen Anteil von Eckemoff. So bekommt jede Farbe ihren eigenständigen Klang und lässt das Publikum an den Eindrücken der Komponistin teilhaben. Trotz der für Eckemoff typischen reichhaltigen Ausgestaltung hat sie eine klargehaltene und nachvollziehbare Atmosphäre geschaffen, die dieses Album zu etwas Außergewöhnlichen macht.
CD, 2019, 14 Tracks, Label: L&H Production
Br5 for Amazon.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Another fine release from Yelena
This is a wonderful journey through life, using colors and the feelings they evoke. The pairing of Echemoff’s piano and Kache’s drums make for a sympathetic back and forth that is a joy to experience. Even at 80 minutes overall, I didn’t want the spell that these two weave to end. One of Yelena’s best.
Stephen Duff, Radio Adelaide
Colors is the latest release from pianist Yelena Eckemoff accompanied by drummer Manu Katche. The past few years have seen Yelena become a prolific jazz artist recording on her own label L+ H Production. Yelena has recorded with the cream of jazz musicians. Manu Katche continues this tradition having recorded with Peter Gabriel and Dire Straits and as a leader in his own right.
Colors is loosely based concept album exploring the life cycle from birth to death. The ruminative first track White represents birth as a new born child, a blank canvas waiting written on by life’s experiences. Orange has an edgy groove with a gospel tinge bursting with the energy and excitement of childhood. Violet is a quiet meditation on the thrill and rush of first love. Manu lays down a solid beat for the very funky Indigo for the stormy years of adolescence and lost loves. Blue oscillates between introspection and a quick joyful canter and back again representing the excitement and anxiety of pregnancy and birth. The album ends with the slightly dissonant track Black representing the end of life.
Yelena implores us that music is an experiential relationship between listener and her vinyl or CD releases. Yelena’s music stimulates the mind, body and soul both through her compositions, artwork and self- penned poetry. Music to be enjoyed beyond the limited trend of streaming. Yelena is a genre defying musician blending her classical roots with jazz influences to create her own sound. Colors is possibly Yelena’s finest release so far whether laying down a solid groove or being playfully introspective she is ably supported by the fine drumming of Manu Katche.
Ulfert Goeman for Jazzpodium
The thirteenth record of the Russian pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff, now based in the USA, also bears the characteristics of how she creates all her albums: she controls everything, from the recording and the production, to the design of cover, and the pictures she adds to booklet. Eckemoff is active not only as a musician, but also as a poet and painter – whereby the phlox, which she painted for a double CD with Finnish musicians, this time gives way to the multi-colored dahlias. This time Eckemoff travelled to La Buisonne Studio in Pernes-les-Fontaines, a small community in the Department of Vaucluse/Provence, to record with her new partner, the French drummer Manu Katche. There she documented a further development of her tremendous versatility, which goes far beyond her classical training, and also beyond her previous recordings with AriId Andersen, Peter Erskine, Chris Potter, Drew Gress, Verneri Pohjola, Mark Feldman, Billy Hart, Mark Turner, Mats Eilertsen, Marilyn Mazur and others. Postmodern abstraction, classical ideas and jazz form an intimate connection in the new Eckemoff/Katche duo, with Katche’s drums and cymbals providing for a firm footing. Here, musicians are at work interacting and finding parallels with each other and creating record’s emotional abundance, all connected to Eckemoff’s lyricism, to the play of various colors, individualistically spanning music into intelligent and homogeneous unity rising from the shared feelings.
Original German:
Auch die dreizehnte Veroffentlichung der russischen und inzwischen in den USA beheimateten Pianistin und Komponistin Yelena Eckemoff tragt die Merkmale alier ihrer Vorgangeralben: Alles liegt auch hier in ihrer Hand, von der Aufnahme bis zur Produktion, der Covergestaltung, Bildausstattung. Eckemoff ist nicht nur als Musikerin, sondern auch als Lyrikerin und Malerin aktiv – wobei der Phlox, den sie einmal fUr eine Doppel-CD mit finnischen Musikern ins Blickfeld schob, diesmal den vielfarbigen Dahlien weicht. Fur ihren neuen Partner, den franzosischen Schlagzeuger Manu Katche, reiste Eckemoff ins La Buisonne-Studio nach Pernes-les-Fontaines, einer kleinen Gemeinde im Department Vaucluse/Provence. Dort dokumentierte sie eine weitere Station ihrer ungeheuren Vielseitigkeit, die weit uber ihre klassische Ausbildung hinausgeht, und auch uber die bisherigen Aufnahmen mit u.a. AriId Andersen, Peter Erskine, Chris Potter, Drew Gress, Verneri Pohjola, Mark Feldman, Billy Hart, Mark Turner,Mats Eilertsen, Marilyn Mazur. Postmoderne Abstraktion, klassisches Gedankengut und Jazz gehen im neuen Duo Eckemoff/Katche eine innige Verbindung ein, wobei Katches Trommeln und Becken die Bodenhaftung suchen. Hier sind Musiker am Werk, die in ihrer lnteraktion Parallelen in emotionaler Fulle finden, eine Beziehung zur Eckemoffs Lyrik herstellen, zum Farbenspiel der Blumen auf dem Cover, individuell und versponnen und intelligent – eine homogene Einheit aus dem Gefuhl heraus.
