Jazz Notes

Moscow-born pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff has a vivid imagination – imagining her own view of the multi-faceted Middle Eastern desert into one of the year’s finest jazz concept recordings. Desert is rich with musical influences from its land of inspiration – delivered artfully by Eckemoff and fellow sound travelers: horns player Paul McCandless, bassist Arild Andersen and drummer/percussionist Peter Erskine. Favorite tracks: “Bedouins,” the teasing piece “Mirages,” the sinuous “Dance,” “Oasis” and the unrelenting flow of “Dust Storm.” Eckemoff, based in North Carolina since 1991, also painted the impressionistic CD cover and included her own fictional stories and poems that complement each of the 11 tracks. The scope of the project and the delivery by this fine quartet are masterful.