Adventures of the Wildflower

This music, rich in representation, is magical and Eckemoff and company blossom right along with it.

The music is obviously full of colors, of fascinating melodies, of more complex moments and others in which the music stretches towards an engaging lyricism. Sometimes it seems, thanks to Jarmo Saari’s unusual tools, to be in a psychedelic environment. It is a long album, but as soon as you get involved in the sounds and tales of the musicians everything flows quickly, of a disconcerting beauty.

Pianist-composer Yelena Eckemoff deploys her most elaborate but also her most ambitious musical work with Adventures of the Wildflower, which will be released on March 19, 2021. As its title suggests, this double album is the story of a life, from birth to death (and rebirth), of an anthropomorphic columbine flower. Its story is told through the […]

New work by American pianist, composer, artist and poet of Russian origin Yelena Eckemoff is 2-CD album “Adventures of The Wildflower” recorded in Helsinki, Finland in 2019. Listeners are already got used to the fact that albums of this remarkable and unique musician, released through her own imprint L&H Production, have prominent world jazz musicians […]

Yelena Eckemoff’s new, two-disc recording takes some getting used to, takes some time to get through, and takes a different, intensive/extensive approach to the jazz/classical curriculum, broadening the spectrum of an immersive, concept album that refuses to skim the surface. One that might try most listeners’ patience, most of whom would simply walk on by for another round of Billboard’s Top 40 — dumbed-down, mantra-spouting eye candy. But stay awhile. Take a seat, relax, sip some Earl Grey, and look, really look at the world within worlds, where we are not so different from Columbine and her earthly friends.

Jazz Medium digs a little deeper into Eckemoff’s train of thought in this, perhaps her most ambitious, thoughtful effort to connect us with nature, and each other, as the world deals with the aftermath of an unprecedented, isolating, scary pandemic. Look for a review of her new album soon.