Customer Reviews

Life's Backward Glances (Spkg)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was introduced to Steve Khun's music some 25 years ago via an ECM sampler and took an immediate liking to him, and also Sheila Jordan. Her unique voice is not what I'd call "typical" jazz vocal, but I was hooked immediately. Something about "The Zoo" that really blew me away. I find Khun's style and technique to be consistently entertaining and just plain fun to listen to. I had been looking for the Motility album for quite some time and am happy to see it available within this three disc set. Thanks ECM!!!

I can't remember why I bought Playground - maybe because it was a new ECM release with a nice cover. I might have known who Sheila Jordan was at the time, but I wouldn't swear to it. Most likely I heard a cut being played at Morningstar Music in Isla Vista and liked it enough to drop a few bucks. It wasn't precisely the type of jazz I was into at the time, but it was interesting and Sheila Jordan's breathy vocals were pleasantly weird. I ended up listening to it hundreds of times and it's one of those records I have intense associations with - moody adolescence and Santa Barbara evenings. Listening to it now after more than 25 years is really something. The lyrics and playing came back to me all at once, along with all those distant impressions. It's hard to be objective about music that has made that sort of impression on you when you were young, but it still sounds mighty fine to me. Kuhn's playing is intensely lyrical, roughly in the same vein as Bill Evans, but pushing into the spacey realm of 1970's ECM and much less swinging. The song lyrics are cryptic to say the least, but they manage to be evocative and poetic, even if you sometimes supsect the ideas behind them are a little fuzzy. Jordan's delivery makes them seem profound and she seems to have an unusually keen affinity for the band and material. There are moments when her voice, the lyric and the band come together in a way that is truly sublime. This is not music for all jazz fans, but if you like Jordan, the ECM sound or melodic jazz piano, it is worth a listen.

PS. Many thanks to the reviewers who pointed out that this three disk box included Playground! I too had been searching for it on CD for years.

Pianist Steve Kuhn is probably most widely known for his trio work, but he has played in a variety of settings over the years. This 3-CD set from ECM, which documents some of his work from the `70s, contains two quartet outings (1977's Motility and 1979's Playground) plus a solo album, Ecstasy, which was recorded in 1974.

Motility features Kuhn on piano, Steve Slagle on saxes and flutes, Harvie Swartz on bass, and Michael Smith on drums. Slagle's lyrical playing meshes well with Kuhn's melodic approach on piano; indeed, it is interesting to hear some of Kuhn's signature pieces such as "The Rain Forest" and "Oceans in the Sky," which he has recorded several times in trio format, being supplemented by Slagle's woodwind voicings. It is also fun to listen to bassist Swartz, who really gets a chance to step to the forefront and provide melodic interest, not just a rhythmic foundation. His work on "Catherine" is truly memorable.

Playground is a more unusual kind of quartet, with Kuhn on piano, Swartz on bass, Bob Moses on drums, and the voice of Sheila Jordan. Although she does sing some lyrics, Jordan's voice is not the center of the mix; instead, her voice is treated as an integral part of the quartet. It's not the Steve Kuhn Trio accompanying vocalist Sheila Jordan, it truly is the Steve Kuhn Quartet. One of the highlights of this set is "Deep Tango," which also appears on Motility.

Ecstasy is a sparkling gem. It is at times reflective, at times exuberant, but always heartfelt and sincere. Given how successful this solo session turned out to be, I am surprised that we do not have more solo work in Kuhn's catalog. My guess is that he simply enjoys working in a group format so much that he has purposely decided not to emphasize the solo format. It was quite thoughtful of ECM to include this recording in this anthology, for it reveals an aspect of Kuhn's playing that we might otherwise not have been able to enjoy.

The Playground CD (CD2) is brilliant musically but the sound is not as impactfull as on the original LP, especially on the ending of Deep Tango. The solo piano CD Ecstacy (CD3) is transcendental - one for the ages.

I own Playground on vinyl and have been desperately seeking for it on CD. Now I've found it on this compilation! I thank whoever is responsible for this.