Recent Releases No.48 (CD Reviews)

 by Karl Nehring

Impromptus. Fauré: Impromptu No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 25; Chopin: Impromptu No. 1 in A-Flat Major, Op. 29; Fauré: Impromptu No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 31; Chopin: Étude in F Minor, Op. 25; Fauré: Impromptu No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 34; Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66; Fauré: Impromptu No. 4 in D-Flat Major, Op. 91; Chopin: Impromptu No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 36; Fauré: Impromptu No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 102: Chopin: Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 51; Fauré: Impromptu No. 6 in D-Flat Major, Op. 86; Chopin: Berceuse in D-Flat Major, Op. 57; Fauré: Improvisation in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 84; Ismaël Margain: Improvisation. Ismaël Margain, piano, naïve V7860

 

The French pianist Ismaël Margain (b. 1992) says in the liner booklet that the idea for this new recording first came about “when I chanced upon Fauré’s impromptus four years ago, when I was looking for a repertoire. It is astonishing to see how rarely this composer’s piano music is played in his own country, and the impromptus are, with the exception of the third, largely unknown. Compared to Debussy and Ravel, Fauré  is much less in the limelight. On reading the impromptus, I was immediately struck by their beauty, by a desire to play them, and by how close the first three were to the language of Chopin… So I looked again at Chopin’s impromptus with the idea of juxtaposing them with Fauré’s.” Chopin wrote a total of four impromptus, while Fauré wrote a total of six. Margain has organized his program around similar tonalities, and to further balance the program and ensure the strict alternation between the two composers, Margain also adds the Chopin Étude op.25 no.2 in F minor, Berceuse op.57, and the Fantaisie-Impromptu. 

 My guess would be that many readers will also be less familiar with the piano music of Fauré (1845-1924) than they are with that of Chopin (1810-1849,). For those in that particular circumstance, this recording would serve as an excellent introduction to the charming, inviting work of the French master. Just listening to the first few bars of his Impromptu No. 1, which opens the program, should be enough to entice most listeners to want to hear more. With six impromptus by Fauré on the program, there is plenty more to hear, not to mention some excellent Chopin playing by the young Margain. The music of Chopin will no doubt sound familiar to many listeners, who will be pleased to discover that the Fauré pieces, although certainly different from the Chopin, do indeed blend seamlessly into the program, which is beautifully played by Margain and beautifully recorded by engineer/producer Alice Legros.

 

Margain closes out the program with an something out of the ordinary, an improvisation of his own – played as an encore as he might do in a concert performance. Margain says of this idea, “I wanted to do an improvisation if we had time at the end of the recording. After three days in the studio, with my head full of all of Chopin’s and Fauré’s music, I made a start, without really knowing how to approach it all. I didn’t want to make an exercise in style, nor did I want to include absolutely all the themes. In the end I began by taking up the theme of Chopin’s berceuse, which is just before this on the album, to play with it, transform it, and then mix it with other pieces of the program, sometimes merely hinted at, before gradually moving away from it.” It’s a delightful piece, by turns wistful and playful, clearly inspired by what has come before – especially Chopin – “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” – but original and imaginative as well, adjectives that apply fittingly to this entire release.

Tomer Cohen: Not the Same River. Not the Same River; Connecting Dots; Hithadshut (Regeneration); Empty?;Pastures; Sunrise; Probably More Than Two; First Laps. Tomer Cohen, guitar; Matt Penman, Bass; Obed Calvaire, drums. Hypnote Records HR028

 

The Israeli-raised New York-based guitarist-composer Tomer Cohen (b. 1996) makes his debut as a leader with Not the Same River, an album that serves as another example of how jazz can be viewed as a form of chamber music. Sometimes classical music folks have a misguided idea that jazz is mostly improvisation, played by people who really do not know much about music theory and are just kind of getting together and making it all up as they go along. This is most assuredly not the case; in fact, the majority of professional jazz musicians are well-versed in the nuances of music theory. Their ability to improvise grows out of their knowledge of chords, scales, modes, transpositions, key changes, meters, rhythms, and such – plus plenty of practice, practice, practice. And you’d be surprised at how many top jazz musicians are also fans of classical music. But I digress…

Although Cohen composed all of the selections on this recording, and his guitar takes the spotlight in term of melodic invention, Penman’s bass and Calvaire’s drums provide more than merely rhythmic support, as the three musicians listen to and play off each other with drive and intensity. Cohen plays his guitar with an unusual technique of playing single notes with a pick between his thumb and forefinger while simultaneously chording and playing counterpoint with his three remaining fingers, which allows him to play arpeggios and melody lines while comping for himself. This gives him a smooth, tuneful sound that has an easy, natural flow to it

There is a consistency of sound throughout the album, as Cohen does not strive for effects or far-out sounds from his guitar. He maintains a consistent guitar tone throughout. The overall mood of the tunes does not vary much, either. That is not to say they all sound the same; rather, that there is an overall feeling or mood to the album that seems to point to a point to a single vision. Cohen says of the album, “I used to play outside with my guitar, watching the fields and the blue sky. I believe some of that vibe is reflected in some of the tunes on this record.” For example, he points to the tune Pastures as an example of offering a sense of place. “I’m trying to get the listener to see the place where I wrote the song. Basically, I’m saying to the listener: ‘Close your eyes and imagine that you’re sitting on a high hill. You see the green fields and you can see the wind move them like the waves in the sea. Above you only cloudless blue skies. Far back you can see two rivers, one is a bit bigger than the other. On your right you see a green forest with some white birds flying above the trees.’ That’s the image I’m trying to convey in that piece. That’s exactly what I was trying to do on this record, trying to connect some stories, images and life philosophies that I have into one thing.” That’s an ambitious agenda, to be sure, but it certainly demonstrates a seriousness of purpose that belies the idea that jazz is just some guys just getting together and playing whatever happens to come into their heads. This is a fine album of well-crafted, tuneful, engaging music that should appeal to a wide-cross-section of jazz and classical fans alike.