The Squid's Ear Magazine


Risser, Eve  / Kaja Draksler: To Pianos (Clean Feed)

Two pianists dedicate to their instruments at the Gallus Hall of Cankarjev Dom during the 57th Jazz Festival Ljubljana: Paris-based pianist Eve Risser (Umlaut, En-Corps, &c) and Slovenian pianist Kaja Draskler (I/O, Draskler Octet, &c.), to record these inventive duos, weaving their keys together or working inside and out of the piano in incredible sonic approaches.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Eve Risser-piano

Kaja Draksler-piano


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UPC: 5609063004489

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF448
Squidco Product Code: 25203

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2017
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded during the 57th Jazz Festival Ljubljana, on February 7th, 2016, and in the Gallus Hall of Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Janurary 7th, 2017, by Luis Delgado.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"To Pianos can read as a dedication: an act of celebration of the instrument. But being a pianist, I also read the phrase as something of a supplication. We've each hopefully made some kind of peace with our own instruments at home - and if we're lucky, we may even love them. But whenever we travel to perform, we're at the mercy of the particular piano we find at the other end. Whatever cosmic force controls this particular lottery, sometimes you just have to pray to it. All of which makes it remarkable that musicians such as Eve and Kaja sound so utterly distinctive each time they sit at the instrument.

But there's another thing: as pianists, we're almost always the only one of us on stage; so that on those rare occasions where we do get to play with other pianists, there's something thrilling about the particular type of selflessness which the situation requires. This, then, is perhaps even more remarkable: that the pianists you hear on these two pianos remain so individual and distinctive, and the same time as they are able to come together to forge something so completely new, shared and selfless. And a true rarity: that they can project such personality in part simply (...but if only it were simple...) by remembering to let the instruments speak for themselves.

We might almost be observing surgery, as they stand working deftly over the innards of their instruments. But at the same time, there's a kind of glee in the experimentation itself, and this is where the music is assuredly different from surgery: an often-mischievous, always curious 'what happens if I do this?' attitude pervades this collaboration, and I for one am happy if doctors don't think in this way.

If it balances playfulness and rigor in this disarming way, the music similarly exhibits humanity at the same time as celebrating its mechanical aspects. The pianists are brave in wresting out the strange and ugly sounds from their instruments; but in the context of experimental music, are perhaps even more fearless in being free enough also to deal with possibilities such as melody and romanticism.

But listen harder, and you may also notice the machines here giving themselves away as living, breathing things: compare the pianos' changing beauty as their overtone-laden brilliance early on in the album drifts almost imperceptibly towards a more ethereal wooziness later in their working day. Two pianos, four hands; 176 tuned drums, two harps in boxes: but this doesn't quite cover it. The listener will probably perceive any number of 'other' instrumental sonorities evoked at various stages during this music.

If it's clear that both pianists have the forensic inclination to mine the details of single sounds, they also possess the Ellingtonian conception of symphonic piano playing. Take, for example, the track "To Women", and imagine it orchestrated: the exercise somehow seems to complete itself, entirely because the pianism is so replete with color and nuance, and so immaculately organized with respect to so many musical parameters.

Abstraction and representation; romanticism and asceticism; playfulness and rigor; microscopic and panoramic perspectives; human and machine elements: all of these are in play here, and it would certainly be possible to write plenty more about this unique music. Ultimately, however, this is a special document because what it captures will almost certainly be quite unlike what you hear when you are fortunate enough to hear Kaja and Eve again. And the miracle of this is that when you do, you will still know instantly that it is them."-Alexander Hawkins


Artist Biographies

"Eve Risser has her musical roots in chamber music as a flutist and pianist. While residing in Alsace, France, she merged in to the contemporary and jazz/improvised music world. In June 2008, she got the 1st Piano Price in Jazz & Improvised Music at National Conservatory in Paris, a soloist price at the International Competition of La Défense. From 2009 to 2013 she took part of National Jazz Orchestra of Fance (ONJ) directed by Danie Yvinec. Eve's multifaceted musical creativity has been heard in various settings, festivals and groups throughout the world.

She performs solo with piano or electric harpsichord and a her own improvisations or compositions. She leads and co-leads, plays, and composes in the Donkey Monkey with Yuko Oshima ; in the quartet The New Songs with the swedish singer and composer Sofia Jernberg, Kim Myhr and David Stackenäs ; in the trio EN-CORPS (Risser/Duboc/Perraud) ans many others.

Currently Eve's musical life is based out of Paris where she is involved in organizing creative music live performances and the label UMLAUT. Eve has had the possibility to play and collaborate with great musicians such as John Hollenbeck, Billy Hart, Benoît Delbecq, Jon Irabagon, Mickael Formanek, Médéric Collignon, Marc Ducret, Emile Parisien, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Mickael Zerang, Andreas Werliin, joel grip, eivind lohning, Wolfgang Mitterer, Quatuor Bela, MAGMA, Le Sacre du Tympan, Magnetic Ensemble, The Bridge #5, les solistes de l'Ensemble Intercontemporain Nicolas Crosse & Pascal Gallois, Pascal Niggenkemper Vision 7 and many others.Je suis un paragraphe. Cliquez ici pour ajouter votre propre texte et modifiez-moi. Je suis l'endroit parfait pour raconter une histoire, et pour vous présenter à vos utilisateurs."

-Eve Risser website (http://www.everisser.com/biography)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Kaja Draksler (1987) is a Slovenian pianist and composer. After her studies in the Netherlands (BA in jazz piano and MA in classical composition), she decided to stay in Amsterdam, where she is an active member of the improvisors scene, performing extensively all over the Europe. Besides her frequent solo concerts, she has been working regularly with Čudars-Draksler Duo, Feecho, BadBooshBand, and Draksler-Santos Silva duo. She is also one of the founding members of the interdisciplinary group I/O. She recently formed her Octet. As a composer she has been commissioned by various international groups, ranging from vocal and chamber ensembles to big bands and orchestras. Kaja is interested in finding ways to merge the composition and (free) improvisation by working with different structures and musical logics. She is drawn to the idea of erasing the stylistic and historical musical borders, and discovering personal expression and language through composition and improvisation."

- Website (http://www.kajadraksler.com/pressENG/KD%20BIO.pdf)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Dusk, Mystery, Memory, Community 6:49

2. To Pianists 10:20

3. Eclats 9:38

4. Sestri (To a Sister: Two Sisters) 5:20

5. Kallaste, La Ville Abandonnee (The Ghost Town) 8:36

6. To Women 9:53

7. Walking Batterie Woman 5:40

8. To You 3:32

Related Categories of Interest:


Clean Feed
Improvised Music
Jazz
Duo Recordings
Piano & Keyboards
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms
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Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


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