Детали релиза : Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet - For the Love of Fire and Water (2022) [FLAC (tracks + .cue)]

This album by Myra Melford’s Fire And Water Quintet (Rogue Art 0119) presents ten pieces for an amazing quintet of Melford on piano, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor and soprano saxophones, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Susie Ibarra on drums and percussion.
The music is an excellent example of where contemporary jazz is today, whether in the USA or in Europe; the music moves seamlessly between composed passages and improvised sections, it is thoughtful and contemplative with echoes of contemporary classical music, but also goes into more dramatic, high energy passages. The improvisations are usually interactive within the group, coming in duos and trios with the occasional solo passage, rather than the string of solos common in more mainstream jazz. The written themes are similarly thoughtful, melodic and lead naturally into the improvised passages.
Track I is an excellent example of the approach; it begins with Myra playing a solo passage on the piano before each member enters, first Tomeka Reid on the cello, followed by Susie Ibarra on the drums, then Ingrid Laubrock comes in on the saxophone, finally Mary Halvorson enters on the guitar. All this makes for a fascinating track. Track II is a group piece with a great theme and excellent interaction between the players over a deep sound at the low end of the piano; it moves without a break into Track III which mostly consists of an intense conversation between Laubrock and Halvorson with Melford coming in towards the end. This is the pattern throughout, and there is plenty of variety, different textures and colours, gentler passages leading into more ‘out’ passages. Track IV features a more extended solo passage by Reid on the cello, while Track V is based on a more energetic conversation between Melford playing inside the piano and extended techniques on Laubrock’s saxophone. And so the pattern continues: Track VI is totally improvised with a collective creation of different sounds. Track VII intially continues the mood of Track VI with a duet between piano and drums before the ensemble comes in with an attractive line which in turn leads into a focus for Halvorson and then Laubrock. Track VIII starts with the ensemble clapping which leads into a very enjoyable interaction between the clapping and Reid soloing on cello. Finally, there is a nice contrast between the two final tracks; Track IX has some high energy improvisation, whereas Track X presents an attractive and gentle conclusion with a feature for bowed cello and into which Halvorson’s sounds on the guitar fit very well.