Berkeley’s Maybeck Hall has hosted many of jazz’s greatest pianists
in live solo recitals. Under the Water, recorded there in
September 2007, documents that rare creature, the piano duet.
From Japan, Satoko Fujii studied with the great Paul Bley, has
recorded in an assortment of contexts, from duo to big band with
American and Japanese musicians, and she visits the United States
often. Myra Melford is from the Chicago area, has been a fixture on New
York’s jazz scene since the mid-1980s, and now teaches at the
University of California at Berkeley. Both are among the most exciting
cutting-edge jazz key-crackers walking the Earth.
Under the Water presents three duets and a solo piece
from each. Stylistically, Fujii is more percussive and economical while
Melford is impressionistic and draws on shades of blues and Indian
music. (She spent about a year studying in India.) The album begins
with “Yadokari,” with both using extended techniques (such as playing
or altering the innards of their pianos) for some crackling, folk-like
explorations, then engaging in some wiry, darting interaction on the
keys. “The Magnificent Fish” begins as a meditation, evolves into
Chopin-like lyricism and then into feverish, spiky McCoy Tyner-esque
runs.
Water is demanding music, but for those valuing subtle and
spontaneous interaction, it holds many rewards. (Libra)
