5.0 out of 5 stars 
Title: I’m Always Careful to say “The Best …. “

Especially with Yelena, because every time I listen to her latest release I say to myself “My God, this one’s her best one yet!” And then normally I’ll then play the one just before, and then I’ll go back and play a few more. I consider myself very lucky to have them all, and I pop them into the drawer of the CD player probably more often than any other single artist. Following the journey from her first piano trio recordings and on through the continuing changes as each new release comes out has been a journey I truly hope to never end. With “I Am A Stranger In This World” Yelena has once again chosen an ideal selection of sidemen to support the thoughts that she had as she wrote each Psalm. The manner in which she changes the mood, alters the tempo and weaves through the very mysteries of her melodies always holds my attention in a tight grip. On this album I especially enjoyed the playing of Ralph Alessi. His playing is always right on the mark, and his ease at dipping into the Avant Garde is just fun, and I enjoy that each player has his own signature sound, but in whichever combination Yelena has them set up throughout the recording is their interplay feels completely natural. Once again I can very simply sum up “I’m A Stranger In This World” by saying, “Yelena, thank you so much and I can hardly wait for the next!”