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| Andrew McCormackJason Yarde MY Duo *** |
| Thursday, 26 November 2009 13:30 | |||||||
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Joy And Ears | Andrew McCormack (p) and Jason Yarde (as, ss). Rec. 2009 As a group shrinks there may be a temptation to fill the expanding sonic space. Compensate for the absence of the drums, the disappearance of a horn, the lack of a voice: all of this is valid thinking but there is perhaps another argument to bring to the table, the one that says that some of the most successful duos or even solo works use the new room for manoeuvre to do so even less. It’s essentially a confidence issue, as well as a question of understanding how sound works in alliance with a lack of sound, how silence can make noise more effective if not dramatic. Yarde and McCormack have that confidence and understanding. Having had a lengthy creative relationship through their association with Dune records, it comes as no surprise that there is a marked empathy between them with each player displaying a sensitivity to the other so that the two, as is the case in the best duets, are not fighting one another for supremacy. Classical harmony is quite prevalent throughout the work, yet the reprises of Bernstein and Mark AnthonyTurnage are not interesting for their nonjazz quality but rather the sense of pert melodic movement that is achieved within relatively tight chordal constraints. An emphasis on a theme or a singing line also marks several other pieces where the long, gauzy tones from Yarde’s soprano hang tantalisingly in the air, softening and warming the harder edge of McCormack’s chords. Beyond their abilities as accompanists and soloists, both players seriously assert themselves as composers and the contrast in styles is pleasingly marked, the pianist’s being perhaps a touch less angular than the saxophonist’s. The net result is an album of very mature performances and tight narrative focus that presents jazz composition and improvisation as infinitely fluid entities that can draw on classical music, minimalism and understated folk without creating unwieldy hybrids per se. Kevin Le Gendre
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