I don’t remember a time when I didn’t like rock music. I do remember precisely when I began to hear jazz. I was watching a performance by bassist Red Mitchell and pianist Bill Mays on public television. They produced a CD with the same or roughly the same music: Two of a Mind (1983). Something about the bass/piano brought about the subtle shift in mental processing that is the essence of jazz. I would experience that same shift several more times as I developed a taste for more adventurous music.
Pianist Marilyn Crispell describes such an experience as the turning point in her musical career. Hearing John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme for the 1st time sent her on her way stardom on the stage of free jazz. She spent 10 years with the Anthony Braxton quartet and was a frequent collaborator with Gerry Hemingway. On Memento she reunites with double bass player Anders Jormin. I can recommend his collaboration with his percussionist brother, Christian Jormin and all-around horn master Mats Gustafsson: Opus Apus.
Crispell opens “For the Children,” with a soft, elegant melody. Jormin comes in so subtly that I am not quite sure where the ringing of the keyboard is replaced by the bow and strings. After a few moments, the interlocutors trade places and Jormin’s base rides on Crispell’s pensive but passionate piano. Near the end, the bow is replaced by his fingered notes that rise like hills in the distance. The piece is exquisite.
The second entry, aptly titled “Dialogue” continues the thoughtful empathy that is expressed throughout the recording. The two musicians leave just enough space between notes that each word, phrase, and exchange is clearly articulated.
“Beach at Newquay” was an unexpected delight. Jormin imitates the cry of gulls so authentically that it took me a moment to realize that they weren’t really at the beach. Crispell’s lines, by contrast, present an almost visual impression: glittering light on waves.
This is music for a cool, gray morning, a cup of coffee in both hands, and any body of water that stretches over the horizon. In the afternoon, put on Brahm’s Cello Sonata No. 1. Trust me.
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