With an album title like “Scenes From The Dark Ages”, you’d expect either some proper Medieval folk music, or some epic Power Metal, I’d say.  New York based piano virtuoso Yelena Eckemoff subverts these expectations completely though with her new album that’s full of the finest Instrumental Jazz Fusion with subtle Classical influences. As the title suggests though, the fifteen songs on the album really paint pictures in your head, with the primary lead instruments in most of the songs being Carlo Nicita’s evocative performance on various flutes. The rest of the ensemble (including drum/percussion legend Trilok Gurtu) delivers on equally high levels, while maintaining a rather laid-back charm. “Scenes From The Dark Ages” is definitely too long with its 1 hour 45 minutes playing time, but there’s still a lot of great stuff to be discovered if classically infused Jazz Fusion is your jam.