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Chansons d’Edith Piaf
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In June 1995 George Avakian went to the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard to hear the performance of Paul Motian's Trio with guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano, which was recorded and released [in the year 1997] under the title Sound of Love. "George Avakian was in the control booth and we were talking about his works with Miles Davis, Bill Evans … and to my surprise I found out that he had produced various albums with Édith Piaf. This meeting gave me the impulse to rediscover Édith Piaf's music and a few months later I spoke with Poo [Masabumi Kikuchi] about my rediscovered love for French chansons", Stefan Winter recalls. This was the starting point of the new Tethered Moon album.
Masabumi Kikuchi remembers he immediately expressed his strong interest in and enthusiasm for the concept of writing and recording original arrangements of Piaf's songs. "As it turned out, I'd just been recording a Helen Merrill album for French Polygram with Paul Motian and Charlie Haden and was listening to a lot of Piaf at the time. I've been a fan of hers since the late 1950s and early 1960s, a time when the lifestyle she, Lucienne Delyle and other French singers evoked was extremely popular with Japanese teenagers and college students. As a musician today, I'm also intrigued by how so many chansons begin in minor keys and end in major ones which, to me, reflects the French personality after World War II."
Kikuchi totally immersed himself in Piaf's music in preparation for this recording. "I listened for over a year to everything I could get my hands on that Piaf performed - way over 70 songs - and it was not easy to choose the ones I wanted to record", the pianist explains. "I've recently gone back and listened to our finished recording. You know it's impossible to be objective about one's work right after one's finished it. I am very happy with the result. The trio manages to build a singular entity even though each of us performs in a totally individual style. It's like Tethered Moon is a being with three heads."
This latest chapter in the growing Tethered Moon discography showcases the diverse talents of its distinguished members. Many of the songs begin with Kikuchi's impressionistic improvisations which play hide-and-seek with the charts of the various chansons. Then, out of a shimmering cloud, a timeless Piaf theme emerges and one smiles broadly the way one does when encountering an old friend after an extended separation. Peacock's and Motian's abilities to comfortably switch from performing in free-form and structured contexts provide a lush background for Kikuchi's broad pianistic strokes.
Pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, born in Tokyo in 1939, is one of Japan's most respected and honored pianists. He was granted permanent residence in the U.S. as "An Artist Of Exceptional Ability" in 1975. During the course of a distinguished career interrupted from 1978-1988 after he injured the tendons of his right hand, Kikuchi has collaborated with Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, Lionel Hampton, Toru Takemitsu, Sonny Rollins, Sadao Watanabe, Gary Peacock, in addition to his solo performances. Chansons d'Édith Piaf is the pianist's third recording with Tethered Moon following Play Kurt Weill and First Meeting.
Bassist Gary Peacock, who initially established himself with his work in the 1960's with Bill Evans, Albert Ayler, and Paul Bley, has served as an inspiration for a new breed of jazz bassists by challenging the instrument's traditional role of keeping simple time and providing basic harmonic accompaniment. Peacock's ability to bring melodic and rhythmic freedom into any musical setting has been his trademark for the 40 years he has spent as a leading member of the international jazz scene.
Drummer Paul Motian has regularly explored and expanded the texture and rhythmic possibilities of his instrument since first emerging on the jazz scene of the mid-1950s. A leading member of the generation of post-bop modernists which includes Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Ed Blackwell and Billy Higgins. During his landmark tenure in the legendary Bill Evans trio from 1959-1964 Motian displayed a highly interactive way of playing that helped redefine group communication in jazz. Today he is internationally acclaimed as a drummer, bandleader and composer.
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ARTISTS
Masabumi Kikuchi (piano); Gary Peacock (bass); Paul Motian (drums) |
TRACKS
1. L’accordéoniste [Michel Emer]
2. Que nadie sepa mi sufrir
[Angel Cabral, Enrique Dizeo]
3. Fais comme si [M. Rivgauche, M. Monnot]
4. Sous le ciel de Paris [Jean Drejac, Hubert Giraud]
5. Le petit monsieur triste [R. Asso, M. Monnot]
6. La vie en rose [Piaf, Louiguy]
7. Bravo pour le clown [Henry Contet, Louiguy]
8. L’homme de Berlin [M. Vendôme, F. Lai]
9. Les mots d’amour [M. Rivgauche, C. G. Dumont]
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