It's been a couple of years since pianist Myra Melford released the broad-scoped, orchestral Where the Two Worlds Touch (Arabesque, 2004) by her group The Tent. Since then she's relocated to Berkeley from New York and, if anything, the duality of her previous record is explored in even greater detail on The Image of Your Body, featuring her new group, Be Bread. It's no surprise, given that the new disc was recorded only eight months after the Arabesque session. That it's taken nearly three years to get released is the real surprise, though it's good news that she's hooked up with Cryptogramophone, a label that seems to stretch its boundaries of experimentation further with each new release.
The core of Be Bread consists of Melford on piano and harmonium, bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Elliot Humberto Kavee, but it's really two quartets—one featuring textural trumpeter Cuong Vu, the other guitarist Brandon Ross. Takeishi and Vu were members of The Tent, so there's a logical progression to Be Bread, but also significant differences as well, most notably a continued path towards episodic composition.
'Equal Grace" shifts gears a number of times, opening spaciously around Takeishi's repetitive pattern and Melford's warm harmonium. Building gradually as Vu ranges from the abstractly textural to the lyrical, it evolves into a dervish-like rhythm where Melford begins to interact more closely with Vu, leading into a snakelike theme that sets the stage for Melford's solo, bridging the gap between East and West.
Melford's writing may be episodic, but every piece evolves naturally from one section to the next. "Luck Shifts" begins with Ross creating textural swells underneath her folkloric piano, but moves into darker territory, with Ross' biting solo voice layered over Melford's simple changes and Takeishi's interactive foundation. Ross cues into the next section with a melodic phrase that, again, seems to bridge cultures. Melford first created most of this music on melodica, making it the most consistently lyrical record of her career. Her piano solo on "Luck Shifts" is the definition of elegant simplicity.
That's not to say she's totally divorced herself from freer concerns. But while there are moments where the group breaks down into more vigorous chaos they are relatively brief and reflect, as Melford says in her liner notes, "layers of simultaneous activity, not unlike life in modern-day India." There may be underlying form throughout, but there's also a persistent 'in the moment" philosophy. Amongst a group of extraordinarily strong improvisers, Ross stands out, especially during the evolving intensity of his work on the rubato "To the Roof."
The Image of Your Body is proof that one's spiritual quest is inherently reflected in one's music. It's another superb release from Melford, whose evolution from a more aggressive free player to an equally unencumbered melodist is a path well worth following. - John Kelman
Myra Melford is a searching spirit. She has already tried many ways of expression, often very idiosyncratic, never chosing the easy road, without giving in to commercial expectations, yet always looking for new sounds, melodic and rhythmic innovation. This quest brought her to India for a year, where she learned to appreciate the harmonium, this quest brought her also to Arabic music and sufism. In her previous album "Where The Two Worlds Touch", these influences were already apparent, but in "The Image Of Your Body" she brings all this one step further. This is not world music, this is modern jazz that fully integrates the Indian and Arabic and rock music into her idiom, and make it quite essential, rather than using it to add some flavor, and what she brings to life a real thing of beauty. For this album she is accompanied by Cuong Vu on trumpet, Brandon Ross on electric guitar and banjo, Stomu Takeishi on bass guitar and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums. Strangely enough, Vu and Ross never meet on this CD, yet their approach is highly similar. Vu is a master of the electronic distortion of his trumpet, as we know from his own albums, and Ross is a master in the same area, on the long piece "To The Roof" even sounding like Terje Rypdal. The title songs "The Image Of Your Body" and "Be Bread" have the most outspoken Arabic influence, with long unisono melodies of harmonium and banjo (replacing the Arabic oud for the occasion). Melford's presence is despite her technical skills very economical on this album, laying the harmonic foundations and adding accents for emphasis. She explains in her press kit : "I first played this music on the melodica and as a result, much of it is based on melody. It’s conceived as quartet music, but what’s important here is not the instrumentation but rather individual musical personality". But this shouldn't create the wrong expectations, this music is full of emotional power, full of suspense, menace, dispair, jubilation and chaos at moments, sentiments that are difficult to squeeze out of a melodica. This is tightly arranged, refreshing music with depth and variation. The music belongs to the same category of the album by Louis Sclavis that I reviewed yesterday. Both artists search for new forms of expressions, using influences from outside jazz and their end result is remarkably close. - freejazzblog.org
Tracks
01. Equal Grace
02. Luck Shifts
03. Fear Slips Behind
04. To The Roof
05. Yellow Are Crowds Of Flowers, II
06. The Image Of Your Body
07. Be Bread
08. If You've Not Been Fed
09. Your Face Arrives In The Redbud Trees
10. Made It Out
MYRA MELFORD piano, harmonium
STOMU TAKEISHI electric & acoustic bass guitar, electronics
ELLIOT HUMBERTO KAVEE drums
BRANDON ROSS electric guitar, banjo, vocals (2, 4, 6-8, 10)
COUNG VU trumpet, electronics (1, 3, 5, 9)
Recorded December 2 & 3, 2003 at Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, New York
Cryptogramophone – CG 131