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Brad Mehldau &
Kevin Hays
Modern Music
Nonesuch 528371
HHHH
There’s no doubt that Modern Music
is a major accomplishment, reflecting
not only the virtuosities of Brad
Mehldau and Kevin Hays but also the
skills of Patrick Zimmerli, a longtime friend of Mehldau. As author of
most of these tracks and arranger of them all, Zimmerli operates at a
level as lofty as the pianists who interpret his works.
The repertoire is varied but bound by the common fact of its difficulty.
Except for “Celtic Folk Melody,” a free-tempo piece presented mostly
in one or two voices, each work is formidably complex. In general,
they adhere to Zimmerli’s apparent aesthetic, not only in his minimalist
technique but also in his adaptations for two pianos of works by Philip
Glass (“Excerpt From String Quartet No. 5”) and Steve Reich (“Excerpt
From Music For 18 Musicians”).
The latter track is the most stunning achievement among these challenging
works. Mehldau and Hays pay great attention to dynamics and
pedaling, with the insistent eighth-note pulse shifting constantly from
massive chords to simple intervals, often mirrored by a variant elsewhere
or elaborated upon by complex sub-rhythms.
Like everything else on Modern Music except for stretches of
Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” and perhaps some of the heavily
pedaled, massive clusters blanketing some of the chord movement
on Mehldau’s “Unrequited,” it is also texturally literal. There may be
improvisation underway elsewhere, but given the density of Zimmerli’s
writing, it is hard to hear where there’s any room for it. In the same
sense, there’s no clear separation between the pianists, when both are
playing the written score and adhering to generally unchanging tempos.
The focus shifts, then, from their performances to Zimmerli’s imagination
as the music transpires. As breathtaking as the performances
are, they are about bringing to life Zimmerli’s original and interpretive
ideas. It’s not jazz—but that doesn’t matter. —Bob Doerschuk
Modern Music: Crazy Quilt; Unrequited; Generatrix; Celtic Folk Melody; Excerpt From Music for 18
Musicians; Lonely Woman; Modern Music; Elegia; Excerpt from String Quartet No. 5. (64:11)
Personnel: Brad Mehldau, Kevin Hays, pianos.
Ordering info: nonesuch.com
Corey Wilkes
Kind Of Miles
Katalyst Entertainment
HHH½
Trumpeter Corey Wilkes knows
how to bring the party. The concept
of this live recording isn’t ostensibly
exciting as further exhumation of
the Miles Davis legacy, but it shows
Wilkes’ honesty in tipping his hat
and makes candid stylistic points he has borrowed from Davis.
Keyboardist Greg Spero is a centered personality, less interested in
flash than the role of mood architect. Junius Paul’s transposition of the
bass riff to “So What” amidst the trippy simplicity of the chords to
Radiohead’s “In It’s Right Place” sets up a half-hour jam that begins
with Wilkes in matador mode. Gritty, willfully obtuse saxophonist
Kevin Nabors is cast adrift but granted enough elbow room to fight
through the mounting thicket of percussion. Thermodynamic responses
suggest this set plays out differently every night but regularly wins over.
—Michael Jackson
Kind Of Miles: Yesterdays; It’s About that Time; Tutu; So What/In It’s Right Place. (77:04)
Personnel: Corey Wilkes, trumpet; Kevin Nabors, tenor sax; Greg Spero, keys; Junius Paul, bass;
Xavier Breaker, drums; Kahil El Zabar, percussion.
Ordering info: katalystentertainment.com
DECEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 91