I didn’t know this pianist, but I bought six copies since then when I happened to hear this play in a CD store. I was attracted to the beauty of the jacket, and I was also interested in female pianists. Classical with jazz scent, it’s great.
The two sideman are leading [Eckemoff] to wider jazz territories, where they find a point of encounter and fruitful dialogue with Eckemoff’s compositions. ..The last two tracks are dedicated respectively to Erskine and Oleszkiewicz and close a big album where the Russian pianist lets himself go to a close encounter with jazz forms, intense and full of emotions.
What more need to be said about Yelena Eckemoff? Besides the fact that she is an exceptional pianist/composer who has released numerous recordings that attests to it. In keeping step with her progression, her latest collection, Flying Steps, is merely a catapult boasting all and more that Eckemoff is capable of.
Pianist Yelena Eckemoff’s classical training in Russia certainly stands out on her “Flying Steps” CD, but so do the improvisational and interplay capabilities of her trio with bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz and drummer Peter Erskine. …Flying Steps” is a democratic, ECM-inspired statement by a true jazz original.
There’s a rare delicacy to this luminous, ECM-ish piano-trio outing that features the remarkably sensitive rhythm duo of bassist Darek Oles and drummer Peter Erskine. … Among the real gems are “Promise,” “A Smile,” the sparse “Isolated” and poignant “Mama,” all underscored by Oles’ graceful, woody tones and Erskine’s painterly approach to the kit. Drum fans will revel in Erskine’s choices throughout this keenly interactive offering.
The scrolling notes of pianist of Yelena Echemoff embroider imagery soundscapes that soothe, excite and entrap the listener in an experience beyond earthly dimensions.
Pianist Eckemoff has plenty of room to allow her instrument to roam in this trio setup, so much so that the ancillary double-bassist and drummer often seem to disappear in these romantic, reflective doodles. …I do plan to get to know this genial record better when there’s nothing pressing.
Flying Steps is a part of Eckemoff’s evolution, the pianist playing to her strengths with conviction and great ability. To her credit, she looks forward in choosing musical company that can move her along without discarding the equity she has built over the years. Eckemoff has always incorporated the principles of progression in her compositions and, with Flying Steps, she does so with her thematic presentation.
There is an unmistakable note of nostalgia in the music that is only intensified with each new listen. For me, more overtly personal tracks like these reach deepest. Take, for example, “Mama,” which is a brilliant and sublime confluence of time, space, and technique that seems to constitute the very heart of what Eckemoff is capable of at her best.
It is similar to the music of Tōkyōgen home village, where melody that is born note by note from the fluctuation of great silence, becomes a flow of several lines. I highly recommend it to everyone of piano trio fans, ECM fans, audiophiles!