Cadence Magazine
April 2000
ELLERY ESKELIN,
FlVE OTHER PlECES
HATOLOGY 533
The Dance of Maya / April / India / Song for Ché / Prelude II / Cause and Effect /
Ways and Means 72:48 Eskelin, ts; Andrea Parkins, acc, sampler; Jim Black, perc.
10/12-13/98, Berikon, Switzerland.
Eskelin's working trio remains one of his most consistently challenging and enjoyable
projects. Parkins' presence is often the catalyst that catapults the music in wildly
unexpected directions. Her idiomatic approach to accordion coupled with a homespun technique on sampler usually ensure a wide amount of listener surprise at her creations.
Eskelin's tenor and Black's traps are no less inventive. This disc marks the fourth
release by this trio and on this outing Eskelin opts for a beguilingly different course of action than in the past. Subverting his earlier formula of featuring predominantly
his own compositions, he selects a songbook filled with mainly the works of others.
The plan is an intriguing enterprise both in theory and in terms of execution. After hearing the trio's takes on the disparate works of McLaughlin, Tristano, and
Gershwin among others, it becomes apparent that they can sink their musical teeth
into just about anything the Jazz canon has to offer.
McLaughlin's "The Dance of the Maya" built on a pendulating gothic vamp, finds
the three leaping through perilous rhythmic bottlenecks with daredevil fearlessness.
Eskelin's solo introductory investigation of the melody on Tristano's "April" starts
out meditative, but quickly builds speed with the entrance of his partners, and Parkins'
refractory ribbons of sound add to the sense of expansive inertia. The trio eerily
dissects Coltrane's "lndia" into its composite parts and their revision of this composition is the most radical on the disc. Beginning with what sounds like a normal piano
prelude Parkins soon carves out an abstract improvisation drenched in futuristic
sound effects and a cyclic electronic drum beat. She and Eskelin eventually follow
the melodic line and Black is left to shape the tune's signature rhythmic drones on drums.
Parkins' forays on her sampler set up are particularly otherworldly on this piece
and the three deliver a very clever reworking of a classic. Charlie Haden's "Song
for Ché" is given a comparatively straight reading by the group with Eskelin shifting easily
into a more lyrical mode.
Eskelin's two compositions that round out the program precariously balance improvised
and composed passages and feature plenty of room for unpredictable interplay. On
both pieces Parkins emulates the sounds of a huge pipe organ on her accordion with
uncanny accuracy and Black's start and stop shuffle rhythms, particularly on "Ways
and Means: maintain a similar measure of virtuosity. Listeners unfamiliar with this
trio will find this disc an excellent introductory pathway into their unique and
constantly evolving musical world.
Derek Taylor
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