In Praise Of Shadows (Fuzzy Music)
Peter Erskine New Trio
Released February 17, 2017
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ndzk2cyJjlGNgd0k2PBeoJe2GYN56I4Hk
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0Hn8qQKJevoz5iYqGT2RUB?si=QeQ_MACDRi-QzE-FoWblxQ
About:
Multiple Grammy Award nominee and winner Peter Erskine leads his New Trio on their second CD outing, turning their collective self towards the Land of the Rising Sun for inspiration. From the Tanizaki essay on esthetics titled “In Praise of Shadows,” to the 60s pop hit “Sukiyaki,” this is the perfect follow-up album to “Joy Luck.” Pianist/arranger Vardan Ovsepian has penned an impressive collection of originals, with Peter contributing one new world music/ acoustic fusion classic (“Each Breath”) — featuring guest cellist Artyom Manukyan (the song is a cross between acoustic Weather Report and the Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet). Electric bass phenom Damian Erskine shines on this recording.
Track Listing:
1. Sukiyaki (Vardan Ovsepian) 04:51
2. What If (Vardan Ovsepian) 04:18
3. Each Breath (Vardan Ovsepian) 06:35
4. Labryinth (Vardan Ovsepian) 06:16
5. Marcheta (A Love Song of Old Mexico) (Vardan Ovsepian) 03:33
6. Silhouette Shadows (Vardan Ovsepian) 05:32
7. Begin Within (Vardan Ovsepian) 04:38
8. Distant Blue (Vardan Ovsepian) 06:45
9. Smile (Vardan Ovsepian) 05:14
10. All That Remains (Vardan Ovsepian) 05:42
Personnel:
Peter Erskine: drums, percussion, marimba
Vardan Ovsepian: keyboards
Damian Erskine: electric bass
Guests
Artyom Manukyan: cello (3, 9)
Judd Miller: EVI whistle (1)
Produced by Peter Erskine
Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Rich Breen
Review:
Expecting
the delicately brooding pastel hues of his piano trio recordings for ECM
Records, my socks were pleasantly knocked off from the git-go by Peter
Erskine’s New Trio. In Praise of Shadows opens with a slyly
sweet, reggae-infused rendition of “Sukiyaki,” a Japanese folk tune
that became a surprise novelty hit for Kyu Sakamoto back in 1963. Erskine’s
version, featuring guest Judd Miller on electronic whistling, hints at the
deeper meaning of the song, whose title—literally translated—means “I Look
Up As I Walk.” No mention of the yummy beef dish anywhere. The song was
originally written as a protest to the continued presence of the US Army in
Japan. Miller’s EVI sound refers to the song’s original lyrics, in which the
protagonist is whistling a tune to keep from crying. And so it goes with the
rest of In Praise of Shadows, an album replete with subtleties and
multiple layers of meaning.
Interesting also is the album’s simultaneous release alongside Erskine’s latest
effort with his co-operative jazz-funk fusion unit, the Dr. Um Band. In
Praise of Shadows provides an interesting set of parallels and contrasts
to its sister release. The music on both albums is a type of 21st Century
jazz-everything fusion: tight but loose, replete with subtle
“world-music” flavors, complex yet easy to grasp, executed at the
virtuoso level, looking back fondly as often as it hints at the musical future,
balancing moments of deadly seriousness with quirky wit.
Though most of the original
material here was written by pianist Vardan Ovsepian, this is clearly
Erskine’s show. In this day and age of the “monster drummer”
Erskine’s approach to sound is refreshing and highly personal. It’s not about
the number of notes Erskine plays, or the craziness of his polyrhythms. Though
he is the consummate “chops guy,” Erskine’s emphasis is clearly on
Marianas Trench-deep groove and the potential for expression via multiple
layers and subtleties in the music. The crazy-quilt construction of tunes such
as “Labyrinth” and “What If” is tempered by the fruits of
the percussionist’s quest for new percussive sounds and interesting ways to
incorporate them into music. Somehow, it all comes off as incredibly artistic
and un-fussy.
On electric bass is the drummer’s nephew, Damian Erskine. Like his Uncle
Pete, Damian is a big-picture guy whose prodigious chops never overwhelm his
desire to make the music sound great. Given the incredible support of the
Erskine Family, Ovsepian really gets to wail throughout In Praise of
Shadows. He’s a nimble, quick-thinking European-style player (i.e., obviously
classically-trained, rarely refers to Gospel sources though the latter do crop
up in his solo on “Distant Blue”) with a very precise touch that’s
apparent even when he turns to the electric keys. On the acoustic, he sounds a little like Myra
Melford.
Ovsepian’s writing is similarly active and resourceful. Though there’s
no evidence of song authorship anywhere on the album’s packaging (and precious
little on Erskine’s website, for that matter), one may conclude that the
pianist penned most of the pieces here. My personal favorites are “What
If” and “Labyrinth,” the album’s two hyperactive, up-tempo
pieces. Besides being super-fascinating, both serve an auxiliary purpose as
percussion showcases. Brooding ECM-like moods carry the day on several tracks,
particularly “All That Remains.” However, Damian Erskine’s supple
electric bass imparts a particular sort of punch to the proceedings that keeps
the music from getting too impressionistic. The music also gets an extra boost
from Uncle Pete’s habit of reinforcing the basic drum tracks with shakers,
brushes and other subtle percussive maneuvers. Erskine’s sole original, “Each
Breath” is an earworm with a tropical feel that benefits from a guest shot
by cellist Artyom Manukyan.
If there’s anything Uncle Pete enjoys, it’s an oddball cover tune, and I
am guessing there are three of them on In Praise of Shadows. Besides the
aforementioned “Sukiyaki,” “Smile” gets and exceptionally
odd treatment with tightrope-walking cello and plunky-sounding marimbas framing
Varsepian’s head-spinning, acrobatic solo. A sweet, somewhat resigned ballad
with some truly dark harmonies moving around within, “Marcheta”
sounds curiously non-Mexican. Uncle Pete’s brief solo on brushes provides a
perfect stinger as the tune closes.
This is one piano trio that effortlessly establishes a signature sound by
virtue of the very strong musical personalities involved.
Dave Wayne (All About Jazz)
