Having cut his teeth with bassist
Avishai Cohen, Israeli pianist
Shai Maestro has forged a small but perfectly formed discography of his own. Now, with the prodigious young Ofri Nehemya replacing
Ziv Ravitz on drums, his trio makes its ECM debut. The album features a range of styles, from lilting solo pieces to full-on wig-outs. The solo "My Second Childhood" opens the album with a Middle Eastern motif, its fluttering phrases bringing a melancholy tone; the later "Choral" has a light, pleasing melody with an unplaceable "world music" feel.
Maestro's independence is truly remarkable; it really sounds at times as if there are two people at the piano, as he plays in different meters with each hand. "The Forgotten Village" is restrained, super-smooth, almost lounge, with the three playing off each other expertly; Nehemya brings an offbeat rhythm with subtle rimshot clicks as Roeder lays down an amazingly rubbery bass solo. "A Moon's Tale" has an appropriately nocturnal quality, as silvery fingers of
Debussy-esque solo piano swell into a middle section of almost gothic horror. The lilting "Lifeline" has one of the album's most beautiful melodies, lush, romantic, and faintly bittersweet, with wonderfully satisfying harmonic resolutions. The funky, syncopated "New River, New Water" seems largely freely improvised; there's a real telepathic interplay between the players, the energy palpable as the music rises to a frantic crescendo, with their excited shouts captured on the mike. The standout title track is the major showcase of the trio's chops -- starting out louche and filmic, it shifts gear about a third of the way through and lifts off with brisk, swinging cymbals and a rolling, roiling piano part before the trio bursts into life, Nehemya all over his kit, Roeder mirroring the piano as
Maestro unleashes a torrent of notes. "What Else Needs to Happen" closes the album on a somber note, becoming darker and more atonal as it progresses, with the piano and the bass both seeming to go out of tune. It features an overdubbed speech by
Barack Obama calling for gun control, which is an important message but seems jarring and out of place, and takes the listener out of the music. But that's the only misstep here.
Maestro's pianism is remarkable, deftly and concisely expressing deep reserves of emotion with an impressive lightness of touch; it's never too far out, always melodic enough to be accessible but never staid or predictable. As ever, the whole is lovingly produced by Manfred Eicher in his trademark bright and open way, every note clear and crisp, the tone perfectly balanced. This is an impressive addition to
Maestro's oeuvre and, one hopes, the beginning of a fruitful relationship with ECM. ~ John D. Buchanan