Lonely Man and His Fish

Lonely Man and His Fish front cover

Michael Tucker for Jazz Journal UK

,

As I’ve had occasion to remark before, Eckemoff is a special pianist and composer, a special artist. Her freshly conceived and most thoughtful recordings, as diversely lyrical and atmospheric as they are rhythmically and harmonically enticing, are distinguished by a changing and imaginative employment of musicians, selected from some of the world’s finest… I never tire of Eckemoff’s imagistic and essentially poetic world, rendered as it is with such literate yet open-minded pianism and group sensitivity. Lonely Man And His Fish is a beautiful, emotionally and musically probing addition to an already most remarkable discography.

Doug Collette for All About Jazz

,

The beauty of pianist/composer Eckemoff’s ambitious work here is that the carefully-crafted, multi-leveled concept never impinges upon the flow of the musicianship. ..A near-perfect clarity and balance of recorded sound pervades the ninety-some minutes on two CDs, a logical reflection of this artist’s overall creative lucidity.

Raul da Gama Rossi for Jazz da Gama

,

What makes Ms Eckemoff so special is that she has a history of creating partnerships with her ensembles elevating them to new levels. This, of course, extends to individual musicians [and the ensembles] whose performances are elevated to a new level. Ms Eckemoff remains the principal character [in all her narratives] who – in turn – galvanises her musicians to create the intensity of a live concert…

Peter Dobšinský for Sk Jazz

,

Pianist, composer and producer Yelena Eckemoff is a virtuoso of emotional expression in music. In the world of contemporary jazz, few artists have managed to capture the hearts of listeners and critics like Yelena Eckemoff. ..Eckemoff brilliantly showed that she still knows how to look for new means of expression for her compositions and original sound, while not having to go into any exaggerated experiments. She is able to respect the jazz tradition and move it into other contexts and shades. Pronounced melodicity, thoughtful compositions, brilliant improvisations, inspiration in classical music and swing feeling make this album an excellent, original modern jazz album.

Aloi for Concerto, March 2023 issue

,

There is something playful, observant, but also sad (“Song for Spark”) about the realization of the story on this double album. After Tim’s accident and the loss of his fish, it’s the sound of the trumpet that ultimately brings them back together. ..The music on its own would not be enough, the full effect is achieved only after dealing with what is behind it. Only then does one immerse oneself and find the connections. That is exactly what is special about so-called concept albums – the images develop with the story as you listen.

Wolfgang Giese for Music an Sich

,

…And so music was created that seems “new” because the narrative character is quite understandable and – for those who don’t know the story yet – a new one is told through the music, which carries and also expresses quite a lot of different emotions, so these are two very entertaining albums of the highest quality.

Nary for Jazz & Drummer

,

The music is relatively slow, but Harland’s endless ideas and technique, along with his organic drumming with a lot of notes, made it possible to enjoy the whole performance without being bored at all. In addition to such performances, the recording of this work is, as usual, so well recorded that each instrument sounds so good that I fell in love with it, and the balance is so perfect that I felt it was superb from an audio standpoint.

Ron Schepper for Textura

,

No recordings, it seems, are more informed by their creator’s personality than pianist Yelena Eckemoff’s. While every album is very much part of a continuum, each also stands apart when the concept and personnel change from one to the next. Common to all, however, are compositions written by the pianist, the paintings she creates for each project, and the texts, be they poems or stories, she writes that function as creative impetuses for her and her guests. Add to that her distinctive approach to the piano and the directing hand she brings to the recording sessions and the result can’t help but be an Eckemoff product in the fullest sense. ….Lonely Man and His Fish is, as Eckemoff’s releases consistently are, wholly endearing and original. Stamped through and through with her signature, the ever-evolving music offers a striking complement to the story. At the same time, the performances hold up perfectly well separate from the narrative when the interactions between the five are so inspired. As she’s done before, Eckemoff shows herself to be a great recruiter of talent and keen to the chemistry that emerges when exceptional musicians are assembled.

James Tremblay for Amazon

,

Yelena Eckemoff has, yet again, presented us with a new style of musical composition, and, as always has bettered herself once again. “Lonely Man and His Fish” is, very simply, a musical journey that you’ll want to take over and over again. …is truly a must-have for any jazz fan’s collection.

Reinhard Koehl for Jazzthing, June-Aug. issue

,

Sounds like a fairy tale. And it is. Almost every time Yelena Eckemoff presents one of her fascinating concept albums – there are now 18 of them – she loses herself in musical stories that are always connected by a common thread, playfully interweaving European classical music with American jazz hardly creating any friction. ..Pleasantly beautiful. 

Dr. Bob Weathers for Amazon.com

,

Yelena Eckemoff, with her brand-new release, “Lonely Man and His Fish,” pushes the bar even higher, in terms of artistic accomplishment. How is that even possible? With each successive album, over the last two decades, Yelena has been the very definition of tasteful and creative jazz explorations. She has rallied the absolute finest musicians anywhere on every single one of her welcome contributions, the current one surely no exception. ..In fact, this album is testament to Yelena’s open-minded, ever-growing sensibility.

Tyran Grillo for All About Jazz

,

After a run of emotionally expansive albums, pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff once again pivots without losing her center. Reinvention has become part of her artistic language, and here it arrives with a new cast and a story told in patient detail. ..Eckemoff leaves us with a rare kind of consolation, one shaped by long hours of listening and looking inward. It is the comfort of learning that even in a quiet life, meaning can surface, settle, and stay. 

Jim Hynes for Making a Scene, issue 416

,

The title sounds more like a short story than a jazz album and it is indeed a narrative put to music. Russian-born, North Carolina-based composer and pianist Yelena Eckemoff has built her reputation on concept albums, whether it’s stages of life, colors, smells, seasons, or about such things as the ocean. …Getting musicians of this caliber together for this inspired 2-CD project was essentially a can’t miss proposition but as one follows along with the story in the liners, it’s fair to say that all performed well beyond the call of duty. Bravo!

Carol Banks Weber for Substack

,

Russian jazz-classical piano-composer Yelena Eckemoff thinks in multi-dimensional, multi-media hues: a blossoming, night-sky Van Gogh set to Beethoven, Bach, and all the post-modern jazz masters looking for a new high.
In her latest two-disc concept album, Lonely Man and His Fish, she and her five-piece band imagine everyday life with intimate clarity, fantastic vision, and the additions of a Miles Davis kinda-blue with a patterned haiku narrative in a Salvador Dali and Roald Dahl setting, where the smallest detail takes on significant meaning.

Tom Hull on Web

Russian pianist, usual classical training, came to US in 1991 and switched to jazz. Original compositions, trio with Ben Street and Eric Harland plus major help from Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Masaru Koga (Japanese flutes).

Andreas for Music Headquarter

Rarely does one experience such an album as if from a single mold. Yelena is an all-rounded talent – poet, painter, composer, instrumentalist. She follows her own path with consummate attention to detail, bringing the parable to life in many ways. The double album lasts 87 minutes and is never boring in its instrumental diversity. If you sit down with the booklet and follow the song titles, you can experience the story in your imagination. Wonderfully implemented – in every respect!

Dan McClenaghan for All About Jazz

,

The 2 CDs worth of music on Lonely Man And His Fish brims with joy and the exhilaration of creation. Eckemoff’s theme-based offerings take another step forward in complexity and positivity. What might be next for the pianist-composer? It is impossible to say; she follows her muse from pride of lions to nocturnal animals, from colors to wildflowers, from the desert to blooming tall phloxes—inspirations from unlikely places transformed into marvelous works of art.

Thierry De Clemensat for Paris-Move

, ,

…seemingly simple stories that reveal both the numinous brilliance of everyday life and our spiritual connections to the natural world. One could almost speak of Opera Jazz, as the dialogue of the cornetist sets the tone of this story and takes us from scenery to scenery, unless it is the other way around… But it is impossible to ignore the romanticism and the poetry of Yelena Eckemoff’s compositions, who, with her style, manages to renew herself with each album…So, if you, too, love the beauty of art, music that speaks to your heart and soul, you will understand why the editors of Paris-Move and Bayou Blue Radio have classified this album in the “Indispensable” category.

Vittorio Lo Conte for Kathodik Webzine

,

This is music rooted in the contemporary mainstream, at the same time very original, to be listened to for what it manages to convey as ideas and atmosphere, out of the usual box, sometimes performed as a quartet, sometimes as a quintet, with the two woodwinds finding a perfect balance within a story whose plot is woven very gracefully by the pianist. Between the solos of the leads and a subtle and elegant rhythmic pattern, without any smearing, we are enveloped in the atmospheres of one who surprisingly can be counted among the leading lights of the contemporary mainstream.

Will Layman for Pop Matters

,

Knuffke is tonally varied and conversational, finding fascinating melodic pathways through the songs, and Koga is astonishing. The Japanese flute is akin to a recorder and produces a complex tone that is rarely heard in jazz. ..My favorite tracks are “Empty House”, on which both horns interact and Eckemoff layers a Rhodes or “Ampli-celeste” and piano together to create a web of tones. …What is mostly sublime can lean toward being indulgent after a while, but having too much of a good thing isn’t all that bad.

Back to top