Composer and pianist Anat Fort has assembled a remarkable ensemble for her debut album on ECM -- Perry Robinson on clarinet and ocarina, Ed Schuller on double bass, and drummer Paul Motian -- and their contributions, along with her strongly eclectic musical background, make this album a standout. The title refers to the drawn-out but fortuitous set of circumstances that led to the recording of the disc and to Manfred Eicher's involvement as its engineer, which guaranteed its extraordinary sound quality. Fort sets up a basic cool jazz sound and then strays far enough from the expectations she has created to keep the listener constantly engaged and intrigued. A harmony, a phrasing pattern, a rhythmic skip, or pause make her pieces slightly out of kilter with tradition without compromising their flow or gracefulness. Motian makes an especially strong contribution with all the subtle ways he subverts the regularity of the rhythm, as well as the unpredictable percussion timbres he uses. One of the strongest pieces, Just Now, appears in three versions, on the first and last tracks and once in the middle of the album. The lyric simplicity of its folk-like theme makes it an ideal showcase for the originality and inventiveness of Fort's variations. Other pieces, such as Rehaired, give Fort a chance to highlight her virtuosity as a pianist. The strong character of each of the players and Fort's slightly offbeat musical material make every piece on this outstanding album a pleasure. - Stephen Eddins
From the first notes of "Just Now," an attentive listener will recognize that A Long Story is going to be something special. The seemingly simple, Middle-Eastern tinged melody is treated with odd phrase lengths, keeping the listener decidedly off-balance, despite the direct harmonic progressions. Pianist Anat Fort's improvisations on the tune float around the barely felt pulse creating an atmosphere of calm, serene beauty, which nevertheless is quite taut beneath the surface.
The rest of the album seems to simply unfold, gradually exposing this remarkable musician's compositional and improvisational skills. The pieces each tell a story and each has a combination of rigorous logic and playfulness mixed with much room for spontaneous invention.
This record, which feels like a longer story made up of shorter ones, is really a retelling of Fort's personal story, hence its title. As with most "overnight sensations" and "good luck," Fort's appearance on ECM has been prepared by years of playing and studying in both the jazz and classical disciplines, coupled with lots of determination.
Fort had wanted to play with Paul Motian since hearing him on a Bill Evans record years ago. After moving to New York from Israel and immersing herself in the downtown scene, Fort met and played with bassist Ed Schuller and clarinetist Perry Robinson, both of whom have long histories with Motian. This recording is the result of Fort asking Motian to record with her; Schuller and Robinson, Schuller talking Motian into doing it in 2004; and Motian so loving the music at the session that he recommended it to ECM. Manfred Eicher then helped to sequence and mix the record and three years later having it released.
That which so intrigued Motian, including the aforementioned "Just Now," for which he asked to see the score (which is quite out of character), is at once both perfectly clear and deeply hidden. The music seems completely obvious at first hearing, unfolding with extremely logical ease. As each track individually, and the album as a whole, progresses, however, intricacies begin to pile up, mostly without announcing themselves, indicating a very high degree of craft.
At the same time, Fort's music possesses much suppleness and spontaneity that moves it away from "good composition" and into "jazz as art," coupled with a playing style that combines gossamer beauty with a steely toughness. Her music also takes wonderful advantage of the musical personalities of Robinson and Schuller, both of whom are playful and light on their feet, and who clearly enjoy playing this music.
As for Motian, he is actually quite subdued most of the time, adding percussive color, along with the subtlest of pulses when needed, with the one exception of "Rehaired," where he plays out. - Budd Kopman
Tracks
01.Just Now, Var. I
02.Morning: Good
03.Lullaby
04.Chapter Two (Anat Fort/Perry Robinson)
05.Just Now, Var. II
06.Not A Dream?
07.Rehaired
08.As Two / Something 'Bout Camels
09.Not The Perfect Storm
10.Chapter One
11.Just Now, Var. III
PERRY ROBINSON clarinet, ocarina
ANAT FORT piano
ED SCHULLER double bass
PAUL MOTIAN drums
All compositions by Anat Fort, except (4) by Anat Fort and Perry Robinson
Recorded March 2004 at Systems Two Studio, Brooklyn
ECM Records - ECM 1994 Germany