Modern Music, the collaborative recording between longtime colleagues and jazz pianists
Brad Mehldau and
Kevin Hays, and composer and arranger
Patrick Zimmerli (a mutual friend of both) is startling for its deep reliance on modern classical technique and arrangements. Certainly,
Mehldau is known for dabbling in all sorts of music, from pop to classical on his recordings and in live performance.
Hays, too, has branched out in recent years, from his signature, intelligent, hard swinging post-bop approach to include compositions with modern classical touches, such as those found on
Piano Works, Vol. III.
Zimmerli, who wrote the charts for this session, played saxophone in his younger years. He composed and chose the lion's share of the material. Three pieces are by
Zimmerli, while
Mehldau and
Hays contribute one each; there are also readings of
Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman," an excerpt from
Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians," and one from
Philip Glass' "String Quartet No. 5." Those seeking a jazz recording should look elsewhere; even
Coleman's standard is overly formal, with
Mehldau (right channel) playing the melody in various voicings as
Hays creates pulsing rhythmic and harmonic patterns in the middle and high registers. The latter begins to swing a bit toward the middle of the tune as
Mehldau takes the rhythm line, but even here, the counterpoint dialogue
Hays creates moves it far from the beautiful, droning center of
Coleman's work. The section from
Reich's work, which attempts, in its way, to imitate the mallet instruments, isn't nearly as forceful or convincing. Those complaints aside,
Zimmerli's compositions, sauch as "Crazy Quilt," "Modern Music," and "Generatrix," with their busy palettes, intricate cross-keyboard dialogues, and contrapuntal studies are all deeply satisfying. His sense of melody is found in rhythmic approaches; his stuttering half-steps and tonal shifts are especially notable for their ability to play off both pianist's technical and melodic gifts, for all their busy-ness.
Hays' "Elegia," too, for its seeming moodiness is more pastoral than one would gather by its title. In sum,
Modern Music totals what its title promises, it's not a jazz album, but one in which new considerations of harmonic composition and intra-instrument dialogue are readily apparent and delivered upon with discipline as well as verve. ~ Thom Jurek