Everblue

Vinylkatalog.de listing

Yelena Eckmoff Quartet
Everblue
Label/TO:  L&H Productions, VM80615122
Format:  LP
review
The Russian pianist, who has been living in the USA since the early 90s, discovered jazz late – her first corresponding album was only released in 2009. But her name was quickly making the rounds on the international scene, and it was almost no surprise when in 2015 Eckemoff released an album featuring three Nordic jazz stars – saxophonist Tore Brunborg, bassist Arild Andersen and drummer Jon Christensen! One feels pleasantly reminded of Keith Jarrett’s Scandinavian quartet: music that conjures up associations of wide skies and uninhabited landscapes. Eckemoff’s clear, beautiful intonation seems tailor-made for this type of jazz, the quartet harmonizes perfectly… (2015)
Original German:
Rezension
Die seit den frühen 90ern in den USA lebende russische Pianistin hatte den Jazz erst spät entdeckt – erst im Jahre 2009 war ihr erstes entsprechendes Album erschienen. Doch ihr Name machte schnell die Runde in der internationalen Szene, und so war es schon fast keine Überraschung mehr, als Eckemoff 2015 ein Album mit drei nordischen Jazz-Stars veröffentlichte – Saxophonist Tore Brunborg, Bassist Arild Andersen und Drummer Jon Christensen! Man fühlt sich da angenehm an Keith Jarretts skandinavisches Quartett erinnert: Musik, die weite Himmel und unbewohnte Landschaften assoziieren läßt. Eckemoff klare, schöne Tongebung scheint für diese Art Jazz wie geschaffen, das Quartett harmoniert perfekt… (2015)
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Ingo J. Biermann for Nordische Musik

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Everblue
(2015, L & H Production cd806151-21)

For her first quartet album, Yelena Eckemoff led three fifths of the band Masqualero in September 2014. even three-quarters of the later line-up on their last album “Re-Enter”) reunited: In addition to Arild Andersen, who had already participated in the trio formation on the CD “GLASS SONG” the previous year, she was able to win saxophonist Tore Brunborg and drummer Jon Christensen. The “Nordic music history” should no longer be closer to a reunion of the famous Masqualero.

“A part of our human consciousness is constantly longing for the Divine, the unspeakably beautiful, the imperishable,” explains Eckemoff. In my world I call this place Everblue.” For this, the quartet takes a lot of time to explore their compositions sensitively. Sure, these musicians bring decades of experience with them, no one can tell them anything. But they do not rest on their laurels, but gratefully accept the offer to present these fantastically intense chapters in sovereign cooperation. Even if the pianist is de facto in charge, the ten pieces are not aimed at letting her shine as a soloist on the keys; rather, we can enjoy this very Nordic suite as an equal group play.

Two of the numbers are by way of exception from Arild Andersen’s pen; “Prism” was originally recorded for the ECM record “THE TRIANGLE” (2004), then with Vassilis Tsabropoulos on piano and John Marshall on drums. In the quartet with saxophone and especially with Jon Christensen’s very free sense of rhythm, “Prism” reveals completely different qualities – just as if it were no longer about the compositions as such, but rather about the floating and captivating coexistence of the four. (ijb)

Original German:

Everblue
(2015, L & H Production cd806151-21)

Für ihr erstes Quartettalbum führte Yelena Eckemoff im September 2014 drei Fünftel der Band Masqualero (bzw. sogar drei Viertel der späteren Besetzung auf ihrem letzten Album »RE-ENTER«) wieder zusammen: Neben Arild Andersen, der im Jahr zuvor bereits in der Trioformation auf der CD »GLASS SONG« mitwirkte, konnte sie Saxofonist Tore Brunborg und Schlagzeuger Jon Christensen gewinnen. Näher an eine Reunion der famosen Masqualero sollte die »nordische Musikgeschichte« nicht mehr heranreichen.

»Ein Teil unseres menschlichen Bewusstseins sehnt sich ständig nach dem Göttlichen, dem unsagbar Schönen, dem Unvergänglichen«, erklärt Eckemoff. »In meiner Welt nenne ich diesen Ort Everblue.« Dafür lässt sich das Quartett viel Zeit, um ihre Kompositionen sensibel zu erforschen. Klar, diese Musiker bringen Jahrzehnte lange Erfahrung mit, denen kann keiner was erzählen. Aber sie ruhen sich nicht auf ihren Lorbeeren aus, sondern nehmen das Angebot dankend an, diese traumhaft intensiven Kapitel in souveränem Miteinander darzulegen. Auch wenn die Pianistin de facto die Leitung hat, sind die zehn Stücke nicht darauf ausgerichtet, sie als Solistin an den Tasten erstrahlen zu lassen; vielmehr dürfen wir diese sehr nordische Suite als gleichberechtigtes Gruppenspiel auskosten.

Zwei der Nummern sind diesmal ausnahmsweise sogar aus Arild Andersens Feder; »Prism« wurde ursprünglich für die ECM-Platte »THE TRIANGLE« (2004) aufgenommen, damals mit Vassilis Tsabropoulos am Piano und John Marshall am Schlagzeug. Im Quartett mit Saxofon und vor allem mit Jon Christensens sehr freiem Rhythmusgefühl bringt »Prism« ganz andere Qualitäten zum Vorschein – gerade so, als ginge es ohnehin nicht mehr um die Kompositionen als solche, sondern vielmehr um das schwebend-einnehmende Miteinander der Vier. (ijb)

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Chris Foden

Yelena Eckemoff Quartet – Everblue (vinyl)

Yelena is a lovely and supremely talented pianist and composer, who writes a kind of hybrid jazz and classical music that’s impossible to pigeonhole and impossible to ignore.
This album has a dream lineup, and while it’s definitely Yelena’s album, everybody shines.
Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen are top of my list anyway, but I must be honest and say I’d forgotten quite how good Tore Brunberg is. I haven’t heard him in ages – I will endeavour to change that.
The vinyl sound quality is really good! Instruments well separated, timbres correct, emotion portrayed beautifully. I believe it’s the only one available on record, it’s blue of course, and sounds fantastic.
And she’s a pretty good poet as well, there’s an insert that’s well worth reading.
Seek her out if multi-layered harmonically and melodically rich yet spacious and recognisably northern European piano music is your thing.
And if it isn’t – get it anyway, it soon will be 😍

Chris Foden
Chris Foden

Vittorio Lo Conte for Music Zoom

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In this quartet Yelena Eckemoff is along with some well-known Norwegian musicians who have recorded for the ECM catalog. The studio, the Rainbow Studio in Oslo, and the recording technician, Jan Erik Kongshaug, are well-known to enthusiasts who follow the brochures of the Munich Chamber of Commerce. The double bassist Arild Andersen has already recorded in trio with her, drummer Jon Christensen is another veteran of the Scandinavian musical scene, tenor and soprano saxophonist Tore Brunborg is also among the most well-known musicians there.

It is an almost visual album, from the cover, of course, with Eckemoff’s painting picturing the sea, but also for the music, so evocative. They are all her compositions (with two exceptions,) as well as poems within the booklet. Prism and Man are Arild Andersen’s tunes, they are in the middle of the album and integrate with the others, confirming the group’s consistency and that their ideas all go in the same direction. Here you are treated with music of more abstract character, but the sound of the group does not flake and remains faithful to the aesthetic choice. The collective works pretty well, as if they had been together forever, and this is another of the talents of this pianist, that is to write and drive the band with authority.

Among the songs the Abyss is a leader of a beauty of the northern world, between Andersen’s double bass lines and the controlled saxophone sound, but with engaging development, showing a tension under the surface that keeps the listener’s attention. The Russian pianist has always something new to say, and from one album to the next her musical ideas are constantly evolving, which also benefits the contemporary jazz scene.

Original Italian:

Yelena Eckemoff è in questo quartetto insieme a dei musicisti norvegesi piuttosto conosciuti e che hanno registrato per il catalogo ECM. Anche lo studio, il Rainbow Studio di Oslo, ed il tecnico della registrazione, Jan Erik Kongshaug, sono conosciuti agli appassionati che seguono le pubblicazioni della casa discogrfica di Monaco di Baviera. Il contrabbassista Arild Andersenha già inciso in trio insieme a lei, il batterista Jon Christensen è un altro veterano della scena musicale scandinava, al sax tenore e soprano Tore Brunborg, anche lui fra i musicisti più conosciuti da quelle parti.

È un album quasi visivo, dalla copertina, certo, con i dipinti della Eckemoff che rappresentano il mare, ma anche per la musica, così evocativa. Sono tutte composizioni sue (con due eccezioni), così come le poesie all’interno del booklet. Prism e Man sono invece di Arild Andersen, sono al centro dell’album e si integrano con le altre, a confermare la compattezza del gruppo e le idee che vanno tutte nella stessa direzione. Qui si va su una musica dai caratteri più astratti, ma il suono del gruppo non si sfalda e resta fedele all’estetica scelta. Il collettivo funziona piuttosto bene, come se fossero stati da sempre insieme, e questa è un’altra delle doti di questa pianista, e cioè di scrivere e guidare con autorevolezza la band.

Fra i brani della leader Abyss è di una bellezza dai tratti nordici, fra le linee del contrabbasso di Andersen e il suono controllato del sassofono, ma coinvolgente per come procede, con una tensione sotto la superfice che mantiene l’attenzione dell’ascoltatore. La pianista russa ha sempre qualcosa di nuovo da dire e da un album all’altro le sua idee sulla musica sono in continua evoluzione, ne beneficia anche la scena jazz contemporanea.

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Neri Pollastri for All About Jazz Italia

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Two years after the excellent Glass Song, realized as a trio, the pianist Yelena Eckemoff, originally from Moscow but living in the USA for more than twenty years, is expanding the band while still maintaining the same cultural Nordic base: to the two Scandinavian music legends Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen, she is adding the saxophonist Tore Brunborg, to assemble a quartet characterized by a meditative style and an evocative lyricism that are typically Nordic.

The compositions of this Everblue are almost all by the pianist (with the exception of “Prism” and “Man”, by Andersen), who is clearly on the same wavelength with her partners, and creates music compositions that let the other musician express themselves very naturally: slow tempo of the music is perfect for the long notes – although a little overused of a very good Brunborg – spaces that open up and offer to Andersen numerous chances to make the strings of his double bass sound wonderfull.

To all of this, Eckemoff adds a coherent piano approach, yet not that Nordic, since it is less free and dissonant but very melodic, a bit classical, delicate to the touch and rich in light persistent expressiveness. The pianist, furthermore, leaves ample space to her colleagues, promoting an excellent group work.

The result is a sophisticated album, obviously excellent from the point of view of the execution, maybe slightly uniform and with few memorable moments, but never less the album is really enjoyable and the audience is suggested to listen to the music with more attention than they might think such album may seem to require at the first glance.

Original Italian:

A due anni di distanza dall’ottimo Glass Song, realizzato in trio, la pianista Yelena Eckemoff, moscovita da oltre vent’anni stabilitasi negli Stati Uniti, allarga la formazione mantenendone l’impianto culturale: ai due monumenti della musica scandinava Arild Andersen e Jon Christensen aggiunge infatti il sassofonista Tore Brunborg, per formare un quartetto dalla cifra meditativa e dal lirismo evocatico tipicamente nordici. 

Le composizioni di questo Everblue sono quasi tutte della pianista (fanno eccezione solo “Prism” e “Man,” di Andersen), la quale è palesemente sulla stessa lunghezza d’onda dei suoi partners, creando situazioni che ben si adattano alla loro sensibilità espressiva: tempi lenti, adatti alle note lunghe di un Brunborg molto bravo ma anche un po’ stretto nel cliché, spazi che si aprono e garantiscono ad Andersen numerose occasioni per far risuonare in modo meraviglioso le corde del proprio contrabbasso. 

A tutto questo la Eckemoff aggiunge un approccio pianistico coerente e tuttavia non molto nordeuropeo, in quanto meno libero o dissonante e invece assai melodico, un po’ classico, delicato nel tocco e ricco di leggeri ostinati espressivi. La pianista, inoltre, lascia molto spazio ai compagni, favorendo un lavoro di gruppo eccellente. 

Ne vien fuori un album sofisticato, ovviamente eccellente dal punto di vista esecutivo, forse un po’ uniforme e con pochi momenti di memorabile impatto, ma godibile e da ascoltare con un’attenzione maggiore di quella che in prima approssimazione può sembrare richieda.

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Tyran Grillo for ECM Reviews

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Everblue introduces the Yelena Eckemoff Quartet, for which the Russian-born pianist is joined by a trio of ECM’s Norwegian regulars—saxophonist Tore Brunborg, bassist Arild Andersen, and drummer Jon Christensen—in what amounts to her most sublime effort to date. All the more so for being recorded at Oslo’s hallowed Rainbow Studio, with none other than Jan Erik Kongshaug at the helm. That it is self-produced like Eckemoff’s previous albums shows the commitment with which she has paved her road.

Since dedicating herself as a jazz recording artist, Eckemoff has intrigued at every stage of development, as with each new release she draws bigger and bigger names into her circle. More than any other, this album shows just how far she has grown from her purely classical roots. That’s not to say she’s let go of them entirely. On the title track, as well as “Sea-Breeze,” she solos tentatively at best. One can hear her struggling against the rigidity of her training to branch toward improvisatory skies, and the learning process, as for any musician, will for her be lifelong. But here she is among masters of the field whose very presence audibly rubs off as synergy begins to take hold. Between Brunborg’s golden veils, Andersen’s sagacious wisdom, and Christensen’s peerless feel for coloration, her allies are like the tide: they ebb and flow with surety.

Two aquatically themed tracks are, in fact, among Eckemoff’s best, “Waves & Shells” boasting evocative dialogue between her and Brunborg and showing the pianist in her element. “Skyline” is just as painterly, Eckemoff and Brunborg again sounding beautifully off each other over the rhythm section’s tectonic support. This time the leader’s soloing is more thoughtful and confident, blending organically into Andersen’s own. Eckemoff shines when the lights are low, as in the tenderer glow of “Blue Lamp” and “Abyss,” in both of which she draws clear and present inspiration from the saxophonist.

Brunborg is an especially vital component of these interlocking puzzles, but Andersen and Christensen bring especial wonders to bear on “All Things, Seen and Unseen,” over which Eckemoff’s pianism skirts genre lines, brushing sparkle into the robust currents of her bandmates. A spry solo from Andersen toward the end speaks of younger memories. “Ghost of the Dunes” highlights Christensen, who contrasts light splashes of cymbal with deeper drums. But it’s Andersen, with his two originals, “Prism” and “Man,” who brings out the best in Eckemoff. Thus freed from the tunnel vision of her own writing, she attains freshness of sound. One can only hope, in light of her obvious excitement, that she will tackle more jazz works by others in the future, if only to see how much she might flower still.

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Kerriopolis for Amazon.com

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Title: easily, one of the best albums of 2015

This is, easily, one of the best albums of 2015 (and many jazz oriented publications agree, as it has received numerous choices as a top release of the year). Those familiar with jazz musicians, especially those familiar with ECM Records, will recognize the stellar line-up that graces this album: Yelena, of course, on piano; Tore Brunborg, saxophone; Arild Andersen, bass; and Jon Christensen, drums. For me, in every case, each performs at the top of their form – and that is saying something! I have never heard any of these musicians sound any better than they do here. They seem to play as one, regardless of how complex the composition and/or improvisation is. Thus, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the listening pleasure is to hear the constant beautiful and seamless interaction between the four of them.

Also, I cannot say enough about how impressive Yelena’s compositions are. Just fantastic. With every listen the vibrancy, nuance, and distinctive elements of her fresh ideas grow ever stronger. Finally, the recording quality itself is absolutely pristine, as one would expect from an album recorded at Rainbow Studios by the legendary Jan Erik Kongshaug.

I cannot recommend this recording enough. Simply put, do not miss this one!

 

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Neil Hobkirk for Wall of Sound

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Title: When is an ECM album not an ECM album? New release from Yelena Eckemoff provide compelling answer.

The question’s not so nonsensical as it seems. Notwithstanding dozens of ECM albums recorded down the decades in NYC—by, among others, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition, Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, the Billy Hart Quartet and the Dave Holland Quintet—as well as many more recorded elsewhere, the characteristic ECM “sound” has long been identified with sessions engineered in Oslo by Jan Erik Kongshaug. Since 1970 the man’s been imparting to ECM’s Oslo productions a delicately atmospheric ambience revelatory of the finest musical details. To this day, hundreds of the German label’s offerings have been blessed by his attentiveness. But also to this day, Kongshaug has continued to finesse sessions for independent producers and other labels; it’s not solely producer Manfred Eicher’s ECM that’s benefitted from this sublimely resonant yet austere studio sound.

Soviet Russian-born Yelena Eckemoff journeyed to Kongshaug’s Rainbow Studio in September 2014 to record the masterful Everblue (2015). Since trading the Soviet Union for the United States, this conservatory-trained composer and pianist has increasingly channelled her artistry into musical projects embracing improvised elements and jazz instrumentation. Starting in 2009, Eckemoff’s released eight self-produced jazz records where she keeps impressively heavy company: drummers Billy Hart and Peter Erskine; bassists Mads Vinding and George Mraz; saxophonist Mark Turner; and vibist Joe Locke, among others. Reportedly she has at least two further sessions already in the can: one featuring violinist Mark Feldman; the other, reedist Paul McCandless. Yes, heavy company.

In interviews Yelena Eckemoff has professed an affinity for players identified with the ECM aesthetic. Everblue mines this affinity not only by enlisting Jan Erik Kongshaug’s services but also by convening a quartet that includes three ECM stalwarts: bassist Arild Andersen, drummer Jon Christensen and saxophonist Tore Brunborg. Christensen’s long been considered house drummer for Eicher’s Oslo productions, and he and Andersen appeared as members of the Jan Garbarek Quartet on Afric Pepperbird in 1970—their earliest ECM appearance, and Kongshaug’s first engineering credit for the label. Besides sideman work, Arild Andersen has contributed fascinatingly varied leader dates to ECM, including the recent Mira (2014), recorded at Rainbow in 2012. Along with Andersen and Christensen, tenorist Tore Brunborg played on Masqualero’s three 80s/90s ECM releases, and recently he’s made his mark on dates led by celebrated ECM pianist Tord Gustavsen.

On Everblue Eckemoff proves a bandleader of similar stripe, sharing Gustavsen’s preference for downtempo watercolour impressionism. But while Tord Gustavsen’s music highlights his soulful keyboard improvising, hers affirms her skilful composing. Ms. Eckemoff considers herself first and foremost a composer; the piano, a vehicle primarily for recording her compositions and only secondarily for improvising and live performing. Apparently she knows her strengths and weaknesses well enough to capitalize on them: with each successive record Eckemoff’s made an incrementally stronger case for staying studio-bound and performing rarely; the albums keep on coming, better and better.

In the case of Everblue, witness an album composer-driven yet admissive of collaborators’ idiosyncrasies. Interviewed in 2012, our composer revealed that she’s trying to ease up, leaving more room in her pieces for performers to stretch out improvisationally and become co-creators (JazzTimes). On Everblue, Eckemoff’s studio perfectionism fully embraces the elemental instincts of her Norwegian sidemen. The result? A lovingly detailed soundscape and an audiophile’s delight—and a Rainbow Studio production worthy of the august German label it wasn’t issued on!

This remarkable record opens sea-evokingly with the title piece. Like the other nine tracks’, “Everblue”s waters at first seem placid, but Eckemoff’s intrepid sidemen animate them with countless moving parts—currents and countercurrents that trouble the tranquil surface. The first minute finds Ms. Eckemoff traversing her keyboard unhurriedly, with sublime lightness of touch. Then the rest enter, tenor keening imploringly over the rhythm tandem’s subtle rumble. With his pinched yet sensuous delicacy, Brunborg brings to mind ECM sax star Jan Garbarek, but the younger man nonetheless displays his own voice. Andersen’s and Christensen’s contributions are likewise distinctive, the bassist projecting massively during his solo (at 3:50), the drummer focusing mostly on brushes and snare until the end, where thickening cymbal textures usher the tune out.

“Skyline” sounds similarly understated, opening in offhand fashion with piano and sax. Gentle stirrings from bass, snare and cymbals haunt this soundscape, which becomes a vehicle for Brunborg’s preoccupied musings. Behind him Eckemoff and Andersen intertwine closely before embarking on brief, sharply etched solos. Closing piece “Blue Lamp” too capitalizes on understatement, its crystalline piano intro showing the way to a simple soprano sax statement. Eckemoff and Brunborg continue to share melodic ideas against Andersen’s steady pulse and Christensen’s cymbal rustlings and sustained brushwork. The tune—and the album—ends with serenely ascending piano notes in the upper register.

Everblue’s other tracks are more moody and restless. “All That Is, Seen and Unseen” starts broodingly before (at 1:18) Eckemoff dispatches a brightly classical-sounding solo highlighting crisp left-hand counterpoint. Raising a gentle racket, Christensen concentrates almost wholly on cymbals, with only the briefest mid-tune tom interjection capping a melodic climax by Brunborg. From this point piano and cymbals hold sway for a spellbound stretch until bass kicks back in, turning the piece in a distinct new direction.

Throughout this record, Jon Christensen’s the wild card. Watch the YouTube video for the “All That Is” recording session and you’ll witness him striking cymbals that sit directly on his floor tom and snare drum. On “Ghost of the Dunes” his approach is similarly unconventional, involving cymbals and bass drum only. Moreover the video for this piece shows him addressing the drum with stick rather than pedal. 1970s ECM records reveal Christensen as a distinctively delicate stylist, accompanying artists like Ralph Towner (Solstice, 1975) and Keith Jarrett (Belonging, 1974; My Song, 1978). But by the time of Everblue, the man’s technique has evolved into something uniquely unorthodox, at odds with conventional notions of rhythmic timekeeping. Avant-gardist Tony Oxley comes to mind as a point of percussive comparison.

On recent Rainbow-recorded discs such as Jakob Bro’s Gefion (ECM; recorded 2013) and Ketil Bjornstad’s Remembrance (ECM; rec. 2009)—where he cohabits Bjornstad’s trio with Tore Brunborg—Christensen’s technique seems refined to its minimalist max, setting a precedent for Everblue’s spare drumming and against-the-beat cymbal exclamations. All Christensen’s chatterings and rustlings result in a forest floor’s worth of crepitant detail. Meanwhile Andersen’s bass niggles, nuzzles, prods and propels; Brunborg’s saxophone worries, importunes and lightly admonishes. At the centre of this woodland hubbub sits Eckemoff’s piano, seldom urgent yet ever authoritative.

Leading from the keyboard, Ms. Eckemoff animates “Ghost of the Dunes” dramatically, embellishing the haunted landscape with trills and even (at 1:47) releasing a series of sour exclamatory notes that would sound at home in some Soviet-era piano work—Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, say. Eckemoff’s crisply patrician pianism meshes intriguingly with Christensen’s random bass-drum rumbles and cymbal strikes tangential to the music’s flow. Fused together by Brunborg’s calm melodicism and Andersen’s earthy insistence, these disparate elements dovetail delightfully.

The moodiest of mood pieces, “Abyss” reveals itself through darkly intertwined piano and bass. Captured by Kongshaug’s microphones, Andersen’s and Eckemoff’s instruments resonate richly; and when Brunborg enters raptly (at 1:20), his tenor registers with palpable tenderness. Guiding an ominous melody, the keyboard unfurls a pitch-black panorama illuminated by cymbal crashes like sudden dazzling jellyfish. Christensen in fact restricts himself to cymbals here, not once addressing a drum. A representative Eckemoff composition, “Abyss” is carefully structured to withhold unequivocal emotional weight: throughout, a full-blown romantic melody tries to surface but emerges from the deep only in glimpses. Even at their sunniest, as in “Sea-Breeze” and “Waves & Shells,” Ms. Eckemoff’s pieces intimate the prospect of clouds.

Testifying to a strong working relationship, Everblue’s other two pieces are Andersen’s—the first non-Eckemoffs on an Eckemoff record. By now, on his third sideman appearance for the pianist, Arild Andersen has clearly grown conversant in her musical dialect. From his own ECM trio date The Triangle (2004) the bassist adapts “Prism” to the purposes of Eckemoff’s quartet. Matters open in Andersen’s own hands with a brief, winding bass solo. Immediately all the tune’s elements sound recognizably of a piece with Eckemoff’s Everblue world. There’s the shyly beautiful melodic content, uncommitted to direct statement. There’s Christensen’s companionable clatter and Brunborg’s whispery diffidence (on soprano this time). And of course there’s Eckemoff’s painterly pianism, limning a gently eventful aquarelle. (A video for “Prism” too appears on YouTube.) Titled “Man,” Andersen’s other contribution is a comparatively knotty tune, with Eckemoff dispensing dense keyboard contrapuntalism, Christensen addressing toms to bold effect, and Brunborg on tenor breathily embroidering the urbane main theme. For his part, the composer scrapes wailing complaints from his strings, introducing the most punchily assertive—the “manliest”?—track on the album.

Given the musical synergy on display, it’s appropriate that Everblue’s album cover bills the band as the Yelena Eckemoff Quartet. Eckemoff’s Everblue is endlessly enjoyable. I urge you to lend this album your ears.

Rolf Thomas for Jazzthetik

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Until now we were not familiar with Russian jazz pianist Yelena Eckemoff. She has an excellent reputation and already worked on her previous albums with musicians such as Billy Hart, Mark Turner, Peter Erskine and Marilyn Mazur. This time she has purely Scandinavian team at her side. The tenor and soprano saxophonist Tore Brunborg, the bassist Arild Andersen and the legendary drummer Jon Christensen accompany Eckemoff in completely relaxed manner and provide  constant accents (note the unusual cymbal work of Christensen  in “All things, Seen and Unseen.”) This record was made in Oslo Rainbow Studios, and Jan Erik Kongshaug was the sound engineer. Eckemoff’s compositions prove that she clearly belongs to a lyrical Romantic school,  – with Andersen contributing two pieces. In her booklet Eckemoff describes nature with great reverence in minute details. Everblue seems like a day at the sea, when the “Sea-Breeze” blows through “Waves and Shells”, and  toward the end of the album “Ghost of the Dunes” touches on something transcendent and mysterious. The sonorous lines of Tore Brunborg mesh well with placid Eckemoff’s pedal, only occasionally in “Skyline” rising towards spirited play. Arild Andersen keeps this fragile and transparent band together.

Original German:

Die russische Jazzpianistin Yelena Eckemoff, die bei uns noch nicht allzu bekannt ist, scheint einen ausgezeichneten Ruf zu geniesen, jedenfalls hat sie auf ihren bisherigen Alben schon mit Musikern wie Billy Hart, Mark Turner, Peter Erskine und Marilyn Mazur gespielt. Diesmal ist ein rein skandinavisches Team an ihrer Seite. Der Tenor- und Sopransaxofonist Tore Brunborg, der Bassist Arild Andersen und der legendare Schlagzeuger Jon Christensen begleiten Eckemoff ganz entspannt und setzen immer wieder Akzente (man beachte nur mal die ungewohnliche Beckenarbeit von Christensen auf ,”All Things, Seen And Unseen”). Standesgemas und folgerichtig wurde Everblue in den Osloer Rainbow Studios aufgenommen und Jan Erik Kongshaug war der Toningenieur. Eckemoff, die man eindeutig einer romantisch-lyrischen Schule zuordnen kann, erweist mit ihren Stucken – zwei hat Andersen beigesteuert – der Naturbeschreibung ihre Reverenz und ausert sich dazu auch ausfuhrlich im Booklet. Everblue wirkt daher wie ein Tag am Meer, wenn einen die “Sea-Breeze” ordentlich durchpustet oder “Waves & Shells” sich miteinander vermischen – mit dem ,,Ghost of the Dunes” wird es gegen Ende des Albums gar etwas ubersinnlich und geheimnisvoll. Die sonoren Linien Brunborgs passen gut zum wohltemperierten Anschlag Eckemoffs, die nur manchmal (“Skyline”) munterer zur Sache geht. Mit seinem kraftigen Ton halt Andersen die fragile und transparente Band zusammen.

Rolf Thomas for Jazzthetik

Thomas Conrad for Jazz Times

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Yelena Eckemoff has a story and a discography unique in jazz. She was classically trained during her childhood in Moscow, immigrated to the United States in 1991 and began making jazz records in 2010. She uses the best studios, the best engineers and the best musicians for her projects. Her sidemen have included Peter Erskine, Mark Turner, Joe Locke, Billy Hart and George Mraz.

As a jazz pianist and composer, Eckemoff retains a classical sensibility in her precise touch and in her systematic, refined, orderly forms. She writes minimalist études of romantic impressionism. The badasses she brings in to help her play them thrive in her measured yet open environments. Six of her releases to date are piano-trio recordings. Those with bassist Arild Andersen contain some of the most powerful, poetic work of his long career. Two of her recent albums engage additional players. Everblue has Andersen, saxophonist Tore Brunborg and drummer Jon Christensen. This Norwegian all-star contingent fits beautifully into Eckemoff’s aesthetic: Andersen with his looming pronouncements like final summations; Christensen with his suggestive rhythmic ambiguity; Brunborg with his clear, clean sound and respect for space.

Into the title track, which Eckemoff begins with glistening, small, widely separated clusters, Brunborg steps carefully, in long, solemn tones. Andersen’s entrance is dramatic, a slow, intense brooding. Their three very different voices then coexist in the song. A fourth, Christensen’s, scatters accents beneath them. Eckemoff’s tunes are grids that leave large spaces for improvisers. “Skyline” is all unanswered questions, Brunborg chasing its elusive, floating melody. “Abyss” is darker; upon Eckemoff’s bare frame, Andersen and Brunborg overlay portents and incantations.

That most of the compelling content on an Eckemoff album comes from her sidemen doesn’t diminish her achievement in setting up the rapt procedures that comprise her catalog. For an album so pretty, Everblue is deep.

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Thomas Conrad for Jazz Times
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