ECM Announces First Releases for 2021: Shai Maestro and Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry

ECM Announces Two New Releases

Coming January 29: Shai Maestro’s Human and

Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry’s Garden of Expression

ECM is set to kick off 2021 with two sophomore label releases from Shai Maestro and Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry. The pair of albums will be released on January 29, 2021. Maestro’s Human sees the pianist expanding his trio to a quartet with the addition of trumpeter Philip Dizack, while the highly anticipated second release for Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry further explore the creative relationships between the trio partners.

In its review of pianist Shai Maestro’s ECM leader debut The Dream Thief (2018), All About Jazz spoke of “a searching lyrical atmosphere, emotional eloquence and communal virtuosity that serves the music.” All of which also applies to Human, where Maestro’s outgoing, highly-communicative band—with fellow Israeli Ofri Nemya on drums and Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder—becomes a quartet with the inspired addition of trumpeter Philip Dizack. Maestro’s expansive pianism is well-matched by Dizack’s alert, quick-thinking approach to improvising. And, as ever, Maestro is taking the music forward while also respecting its sense of tradition. Near the end of an album comprised almost entirely of Maestro originals, exploring a range of temperaments, the quartet offers its own take on Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood,” while Maestro’s tune “Hank and Charlie” pays tribute to the musical empathy shared by the late Hank Jones and Charlie Haden. Human was recorded at Studios la Buissonne in the South of France in February 2020, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

The debut album of Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry was one of 2019’s most talked-about releases. The trio’s musical concept – the Boston Globe spoke of “utterances of hushed assurance, lyricism and suspense” – is taken to the next level on its second album, Garden of Expression, a recording distinguished by its intense focus. Lovano, a saxophonist whose reach extends across the history of modern jazz and beyond, plays with exceptional sensitivity in Trio Tapestry. The music he writes for this group – tenderly melodic or declamatory, harmonically open, rhythmically free, and spiritually involving – encourages subtle and differentiated responses from his creative partners, which Lovano describes their interaction as “magical.” Carmen Castaldi’s space-conscious approach to drumming further refines an improvisational understanding that he and Lovano have shared since the 1970s. The trio is also a wonderful context for pianist Marilyn Crispell’s solos, counter melodies, and improvisational embellishments, and her feeling for sound-color helps the chamber music character of the group to flower. The details of the music are beautifully realized in this recording made in the highly responsive acoustics of the Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano.

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