courtesy of Play MPE
At the beginning of this month, New York jazz pianist Falkner Evans announced that he was dedicating his latest recording Marbles to his West Village community and the Health Care Workers who call it home. The album has ten tracks, nine of which (including the title track) are Evans originals. The final track is “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be,” one of several compositions that Mercer Ellington wrote for his father Duke.
The core of Evans’ compositions resides in his work with a jazz trio. On this album the other members are Belden Bullock on bass and Matt Wilson on drums. However, he used the recording to branch out to give the tunes and improvisation opportunities to other “front line” instruments. Ron Horton alternates between trumpet and flugelhorn. Similarly, Michael Blake works with the familiar pairing of tenor saxophone and soprano saxophone. The other wind player is Ted Nash, dividing his talents among alto saxophone, clarinet, and flute. Three of the tracks feature Steve Nelson on vibraphone.
Both the tunes themselves and the improvisations explore diverse paths of invention. The additional instruments also allow for richer harmonic progressions expressed through imaginative coloration. Nevertheless, there is a prevailing sense of understatement across the entire album, gently punctuated by an approach to Ellington that lasts less than 100 seconds.
No indication is given of when these tracks were recorded. Presumably, the sessions pre-date the imposition of social distancing. The album itself, however, was released a little less than a month ago; and it appears that, for now at least, it is only available in digital form. Thus, while the music itself may not have anticipated current conditions, there is a prevailing rhetoric of focus on doing what one does best, making the dedication of the album to those on the front lines of the battle again COVID-19 an appropriate one.
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