Ethan Iverson: Playfair Sonatas (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

(CD1) Fanfare; Violin Sonata – I. Andante-Allegro Moderato II. Blues (for Ornette Coleman) III. Rondo. Allegro; Marimba Sonata – I. Allegro II. Blues (for Eric Dolphy) III. Cadenza IV. Rondo. Presto; Clarinet Sonata – I. Allegro II. Music Hall (for Carla Bley) III. Scherzo-Minuet IV. Rondo. Allegro moderato; (CD2) Trombone Sonata – I. Allegro moderato II. Hymn (for Roswell Rudd) III. Rondo; Alto Saxophone Sonata – I. Allegro II. Melody (for Paul Desmond) III. Allegro; Trumpet Sonata – I. Allegro II. Theme (for Joe Wilder) III. Rondo; Recessional. Ethan Iverson, piano; Miranda Cuckson, violin; Makoto Nakura, marimba; Carol McGonnell, clarinet; Mike Lormand, trombone; Taimur Sullivan, alto saxophone; Tim Leopold, trumpet. Urlicht AudioVisual UAV-5960

 

Although Classical Candor didn’t see the light of Internet day until 2009, its roots go back much farther, with founder John Puccio and current contributor Karl Nehring getting involved in the early days (late 1970s) of an audio magazine that also featured an abundance of music reviews, The $ensible Sound, now sadly but inevitably out of print. John was the magazine’s Classical Music Editor, while Karl started as an equipment and music reviewer and a few years later became Editor. Meanwhile, in the late 1990s pianist Ethan Iverson (b. 1973) was serving as music director for the Mark Morris Dance Group, playing all sorts of classical repertoire for large audiences, including Robert Schumann’s Fünf Stücke im Volkston with Yo-Yo Ma onstage with dancers including Mikhail Baryshnikov. During this era Iverson also met the tenor Mark Padmore; eventually Iverson accompanied Padmore in several performances of Schubert’s Winterreise. He has long been interested in the intersection of jazz and classical music, and his career has been marked by significant milestones in both idioms.

 

In 2002 Iverson left Morris and formed the progressive jazz trio The Bad Plus along with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Iverson first came to my attention as the pianist in the jazz trio The Bad Plus back around 2003 when I heaped praise on their major label debut album These Are the Vistas in my “More Jazz Than Not” column in The $ensible Sound. (Could that really have been more than 20 years ago? I can imagine Iverson asking himself the same question from time to time…) I was less enamored of the group’s subsequent albums and did not think that much of it when I read about Iverson leaving the group in 2017. In 2018, I enjoyed an ECM album he recorded as part of a quartet with trumpeter Tom Harrell (Common Practice, ECM 2643). However, one of the Bad Plus’s most celebrated projects during Iverson’s time with them was a version of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring wherein Iverson essentially played the Stravinsky piano part "straight." Their recording for Sony Masterworks garnered a rare five-star review in the jazz magazine DownBeat – not only that, it got a favorable review in Classical Candor back in 2014 from none other than our own John Puccio, which you can read here.

More recently, we have reviewed more albums by Iverson. In February, 2022, we reviewed Every Note Is True, a trio album with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jack DeJohnette for the venerable Blue Note label (you can read our review here). Then earlier this year, we reviewed  Technically Acceptable (see review here), an album on which he plays not only jazz, but also a classical piece, his own Piano Sonata No. 1. On a personal note, in my review of that album, I noted that a highlight was the track Killing Me Softly with His Song – a huge 1970s hit for Roberta Flack – on which Iverson is joined by Simón Willson on bass and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums. On Halloween night 2024 I was able to drive down to Cincinnati, Ohio, to join my son Isaac in attending a performance by the Ethan Iverson Trio in which the highlight of the show was having these same three musicians kill us convincingly with their performance of that very tune. 

Sometime over the past few years I started following Iverson Twitter, where I discovered that in addition to his talents as a musician, he has blossomed into a writer, critic, interviewer, and blogger of note.  I would strongly suggest those with an interest in jazz, classical music, or culture in general to check out his website at ethaniverson.com. We recently posted a portion of an interview that he did with a European publication on the topic of the relationship between jazz and classical music, which you can find here. 

 

Iverson’s background in and love for both jazz and classical music is evident throughout Playfair Sonatas. As you can see from the track listings above, each of the sonatas includes movements designated by the typical European classical terms such as Allegro or Rondo; however, each also contains a movement featuring the name of a prominent jazz figure, such as Blues (for Ornette Coleman) or Hymn (for Roswell Rudd). In the liner notes, Iverson explains, "These dedications came about late in the game. I had scrapped a previous Adagio for clarinet, and wrote a new middle movement I really liked. However, was this ‘oom-pah' rhythm too much like one of Carla Bley's amusing ‘music hall’ pieces? Well, what if I dedicated the movement to her? That would fix the issue of appropriation. As it turned out, Carla passed away the same day I finished ‘Music Hall’ and devised the ‘dedications’ stratagem. The other five salutations to Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Paul Desmond, Joe Wilder, and Roswell Rudd came easily, for they had been in the back of my mind the whole time."

 

After a brief, playful, fanfare by the entire ensemble, the program proper begins with the longest movement of the entire album, the first movement of the Violin Sonata.  What is especially interesting to hear is the interaction between violin and piano, characteristic of both chamber music and jazz, of course. (The dedication of the second movement to the iconoclastic saxophone legend Ornette Coleman reminded me that he also took up the violin later in his career.) It’s a lively piece, informed by the blues but sprightly in spirit. It is followed by what seems at first blush an unlikely candidate for a sonata, the Marimba Sonata. Any doubts I might have had about the aesthetic appeal of sonata for marimba and piano were instantly swept away the first time I heard a preview track on Amazon Music. What fun! Iverson’s piano and Nakura’s marimba combine with exuberant effect. CD1 closes with the Clarinet Sonata, certainly a contrast in sonority to the marimba. The overall mood, though, still has that underlying feeling of playful interaction that feels so jazz-like; indeed, as you listen, you can imagine the two players looking at each other for inspiration and feeding off each other’s energy as they play music that at some moments sounds as though it is flowing spontaneously from them.

 

CD2 continues in much the same way A special highlight is the second movement of the Trombone Sonata, designated Hymn (for Roswell Rudd). The movement evokes a late-night bluesy melancholic atmosphere that slows down time. Iverson writes, “Mahler said the trombone was the voice of God. The orchestral palette requires trombone for climactic passages but solo repertoire is uncommon. However, jazz musicians have made the most of this epic and unwieldy instrument. All three movements of my Trombone Sonata address the blues and the preach; the last movement has some old-time train boogie as well. The middle dedication movement is Hymn (for Roswell Rudd). I have a special affection for Roswell Rudd… in addition to being a wonderful trombonist, Rudd practiced ethnomusicology, assisted Alan Lomax, and wrote the definitive essay on his friend Herbie Nichols, the pianist who may have done the most of anyone in the 1950s to combine classical and jazz tropes. I did not really know Mr. Rudd but I met him briefly and thanked him not just for his music but for his writing, for there is no doubt my own scribbling follows his example.” In the Alto Saxophone Sonata that follows, the sound that saxophonist Taimur Sullivan produces from his instrument is more mellifluous than what listeners accustomed to the sound of the alto sax from old bebop LPs might expect. The piece is structured in traditional fast-slow-fast three-movement form, as is the concluding sonata on the album, the Trumpet Sonata, which features a playful opening movement, a reflective second movement at a much slower tempo, closing with a final Rondo in which Iverson’s piano and Leopold’s trumpet seem to be engaged in an exhilarating dance of delight. 

 

Why are they called the “Playfair” sonatas? It turns out that like Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, they are named for an actual person – in this case, Piers Playfair (left), an entrepeneur with a long history of curating, producing, and commissioning new works, especially at the intersection of jazz and classical music. When Playfair and Iverson became acquainted, they realized that they shared many common ideals about music. When the COVID pandemic forced Iverson to downsize and move his grand piano into a cheap studio space, Playfair asked Iverson if he needed help, and when Iverson admitted that he did, Playfair responded that he would cover six months of studio rent in exchange for six sonatas for various instruments of his choosing. 

 The end result is what we have on this two-disc set: the Playfair Sonatas. Making the physical package particularly attractive is the quirky and delightful cover art by the famed New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Delightful art, informative booklet, and rewarding music that brings a dash of jazz seasoning to chamber music make Playfair Sonatas an irresistible release for music lovers of the jazz and classical persuasions alike.

VOCES8: Nightfall (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Jung Jae-il: Psalm 22:21; Sigur Rós: Fljótavík; Reger: Nachtlied; Taylor Scott Davis: Stardust; Ludovico Einaudi: Experience; Alfvén: Aftonen; Max Richter: On the Nature of Daylight; Caroline Shaw: and the swallow; Kim André Arnesen: Even When He Is Silent; Koji Kondo • Zelda's Lullaby; Dan Forrest: Good Night Dear Heart;  Lucy Walker: O Nata Lux; Kerensa Briggs: Media Vita; Frank Ticheli: There Will Be Rest; Jung Jae-il: Psalm 10:1. VOCES8 (Andrea Haines [1-15], Molly Noon [1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11-13, 15] Maryruth Miller [2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14], soprano; Katie Jeffries-Harris, Barnaby Smith [artistic director], alto; Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson, tenor; Christopher Moore, baritone; Dominic Carver, bass; with Thomas Gould, violin [2, 5]; Emma Denton, cello [2, 5]; Sam Becker, double bass [2]; Lara Somogy, harp [5]; Lise Vandersmissen, harp [10]; Elsa Bradley, marimba {5]. DECCA 487 0458

 

VOCES8 is an English vocal octet that has made numerous recordings and recital appearances throughout the world. In June of 2025, they plan to mark the 20^th anniversary of their first public performance with a concert at the Barbican Center in London. They will be joined on stage by the VOCES8 Scholars, former members of the ensemble, and special guests, the BBC Singers. They have undergone numerous personnel changes over the years but have remained consistent in their overall sound. Indeed, as you can see from the personnel listing above, while recording Nightfall, there was a change in their soprano section. Unfortunately, the minimal liner sheet included by Decca with the CD provides scarcely any information about either the group or the music other than the names of the performers, the composers, and the titles and timings of the compositions. 

As its title implies, this album comprises a collection of reflective and generally soothing music inspired by the concept of night. Not, it would seem, the fearful darkness of deepest night, but the peace and calm that the night can bring. The program features a mix of choral classics and contemporary arrangements, including new choral versions of popular works by Ludovico Einaudi, the Icelandic alternative band Sigur Rós (see our review of one their albums here) Koji Kondo (composer of Nintendo video game music), Max Richter, plus world premiere works from British composer and 2024 Classic FM Rising Star Lucy Walker, as well as US composer and regular VOCES8 collaborator Taylor Scott Davis. The album opens and closes with contemplative psalm settings by South Korean composer Jung Jae-il, known for his work on Squid Game and Parasite. 

As usual with a VOCES8 recording, the sound is exquisite; almost too much so, as those soprano voices recorded in a reverberant space can become overbearingly intense over the space of an hour. Can there be such a thing as too much beauty? That judgment will lie with the individual lister. Nightfall is a beautiful release; beautifully sung and beautifully recorded. Yes, I dearly wish the producers would have seen fit to include a proper booklet with notes on the composers and their compositions; sadly, in this digital age, such niceties seem to be disappearing. Still, Nightfall is a recommendable release.

Mass of the Eternal Flame: New Music by Ēriks Ešenvalds and Rachel Laurin (CD Review)

 by Karl Nehring

Ešenvalds: Mass of the Eternal Flame; Lux Æterna; Stars; The Heavens’ Flock; O Salutaris Hostia; Salutation; Who Can Sail Without the Wind; Laurin: Dedisti Domine, Op. 85; Diptych, Op. 107 – I. Bucolico II. Con fuoco. The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Houston (Robert Simpson, Canon for Music, conductor); The Treble Choir of Houston at Christ Church Cathedral (Marianna Parnas-Simpson, conductor); Thomas Marvil, organ; Daryl Robinson, organ; with Paragon Brass; Craig Hauschildt, percussion; Laura Smith, harp. Acis APL53868

 

It was back in 2020 that I first came across the music of the music of the contemporary Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) on a remarkably beautiful Naxos release titled Translations, which featured utterly convincing sonics courtesy of former Stereophile magazine editor, John Atkinson (you can read our review here). Although not particularly long in duration at just over twenty minutes, his Mass of the Eternal Flame is large in its sonic scope and impact. Organ, brass, and chorus combine with great effect, producing a sense of hopeful, positive faith and energy. As Ešenvalds writes in the liner booklet, “it is inspiring to me tom know that in Houston, Texas, there is also a choir with faith in God in their hearts and a true passion for expressing the Good News through music.” You can feel that passion in this recording. 

The other works by Ešenvalds sustain the reverential atmosphere of the Mass, the brief (2:59) Lux Æterna for choir only, then Stars featuring the other-wordly sound of The Treble Choir with their voices augmented by the ringing of water-tuned glasses – a celestial combination indeed! Following the gorgeous The Heavens’ Flock performed by the Cathedral Choir. The Treble Choir continues to weave its spell in O Salutaris Hostia, this time with solo voices added to the mix. The Cathedral Choir returns for the composer’s settings of a poem by the Bengali poet and musician Rabindranath Tagore, Salutation, which adopts a more subdued tone, an attitude of prayer and supplication. The final piece by Ešenvalds, Who Can Sail Without the Wind, finds the Treble Choir accompanied by a harp. As the title implies, it is a song of parting; actually, it is a Swedish folk song, so something of a departure from the more religious orientation of the previous compositions. However, it does not feel entirely out of place.

The program continues with a pair of compositions by the late Canadian composer and organist Rachel Laurin (1961-2023). Dedisti Domine is a motet that she composed for the 50th anniversary of her parish in Ottawa, Canada. It is one of the few choral pieces that she wrote, and features a Latin text sung here by the Cathedral Choir and accompanied by Thomas Mervil on organ. The piece takes the listener back to the more religious atmosphere of the Ešenvalds Mass, but with a somewhat different slant. 

The CD closes with Laurin’s Diptych, a work for organ in two parts, both of which are played by organist Daryl Robinson. The first, designated Bucolico, comprises five minutes of relatively calm, contemplative music, similar to what one might hear played in church. The second section, Con fuoco, gets more energetic, more virtuosic – out of church, into the recital hall, bringing the program to a rousing if somewhat disconnected finish. To be honest, however, I’m a bit puzzled as to why an organ piece was added to the program of choral music; it just doesn’t quite fit in. Unfortunately, in this context it just seems – and sounds – tacked on. It is enjoyable music in itself, but perhaps the producers would have been better advised to leave it off the program and leave us with an all-choral release. Still, this is an album well worth recommending for the sheer excellence of the works it contains by Ēriks Ešenvalds (and the Laurin choral work), which are outstanding.