Technically Acceptable

ピアニスト/コンポーザー、イーサン・アイヴァーソンの2022年のブルーノート・デビュー作『Every Note is True』に続く第2弾。

このアルバムでは、トーマス・モーガン/クシュ・アバデイ、シモン・ウィルスン/ヴィニー・スペラッツァという2組の異なるトリオが、アイヴァーソンの印象的なオリジナル曲に加え、「Killing Me Softly with His Song」や「'Round Midnight」の特異な新ヴァージョンを演奏。
アルバムの最後には、アイヴァーソンのピアノ・ソナタの初演が収録されており、自身による力強い演奏が聴ける。

〈パーソネル〉 Ethan Iverson(p) Thomas Morgan(b)) Kush Abadey(ds) Simon Willson(b) Vinnie Sperrazza(ds)

Pianist and composer Ethan Iverson follows up his 2022 Blue Note debut, Every Note Is True, with 2024s Technically Acceptable, a tonally wide-ranging and amusingly unpredictable project showcasing two different trios. The first half of the album features bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Kush Abadey, adept players who dive into a handful of Iversons distinctive originals. In particular, cuts like the opening "Conundrum," with its Rachmaninoff-esque minor-key melody, and "Victory Is Assured," with its ringing sleigh bell-sounding piano chord intro, evoke a bold cross between the 1960s work of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the crisply arranged, rock-influenced style Iverson championed with the Bad Plus. Theres also the slowly churning "The Way Things Are," whose loping, twangy melody and crunchy chordal accents bring to mind both Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Elsewhere, the pianist is joined by bassist Simon Willson and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza for two deeply felt standards performances, including a tender reading of the R&B ballad "Killing Me Softly with His Song." We also get a bold rendition of "Round Midnight" featuring a vocal-like theremin lead from Rob Schwimmer. That latter track conjures a theatrical chamber-music vibe, as if Iverson was scoring a 1940s film noir. The final three songs also have a chamber quality and feature a three-part solo piano sonata that finds Iverson displaying his broad classical influences. Those last three tracks, as with much of Technically Acceptable, reflect Iversons hard-to-contain music personality -- reserved and lyrical one minute and leaping with wild, dancerly ideas the next. ~ Matt Collar