Marc Copland - Alone (2009) [FLAC]

Posted By: Juma

Date: May 22, 2010

Following a couple of years where, uncharacteristically, he's released but a single recording, pianist Marc Copland returns to his usual, prolific self with Alone, his third 2009 album following the conclusion to his New York Trio Recordings trilogy, Vol. 3: Night Whispers, and Insight, his dark, intimate duet record with bassist Gary Peacock. Like the other two, Alone is also on the German Pirouet label, and the fact that Copland has parked his car permanently at Pirouet headquarters is no small endorsement, having recorded previously for other prestigious indie labels include Switzerland's Hatology, Germany's now-defunct Nagel-Heyer, and France's also sadly gone Sketch. It's also a well-deserved endorsement of Pirouet's commitment to Copland that the label is prepared to go the distance and release multiple discs in a single year.

Copland's last solo piano disc, the marvelous Time Within Time (Hatology, 2005) was one of the year's best. It may be a late entry for the year, but in the arena of solo piano, Alone is an equal contender. Copland evolves gradually rather than breaking significant new ground with each record, and the development between Poetic Motion (Sketch, 2001) and Time can also be found in the four years that have ensued since Time. Terms like "impressionistic," "dark," "intimate," and "abstract" are all good ones to describe Copland's distinctive approach to whatever music he turns his hand to, but while his last two solo discs focused on original music and standards, the similarly configured Alone expands the repertoire by providing a very specific and unique focus on three Joni Mitchell tunes.

Mitchell's inventive open tunings for guitar have provided grist for jazz interpretations in the past, notably Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning River: The Joni Letters (Verve, 2007). But here, Copland draws from more obscure titles in Mitchell's early repertoire: "I Don't Know Where I Stand," from Clouds (Reprise, 1969), "Rainy Night House," from Ladies of the Canyon (Reprise, 1970, and "Michael from the Mountain," from Song to a Seagull (Reprise, 1968). What's, perhaps, most important is that these all come from before Mitchell began to dabble more explicitly in sophisticated jazz harmonies. Written more directly, that means Copland actually has more interpretive latitude, and he takes great advantage; the beauty of a Copland solo piano recital is that, while the non-original material is inevitably recognizable, his personal approach to reharmonization makes it sound very much as though he'd written it in the first place.

Copland's original material continues to demonstrate a equally personal and oblique approach the blues ("Blackboard"), while expanding Night Whispers' title track into an 11-minute, indigo-shaded tour-de-force where everything the trio delivered explicitly becomes implicit, suggested. A newer tune, "Into the Silence," revolves around a 7/4 ostinato; another brooding piece where Copland's ability to paint vivid images in sound remains intact.

He may be better-known in Europe, but Copland is one of America's too well-kept secrets. Those who've not yet been charmed by his inward-looking pianism couldn't start at a better place than the aptly titled Alone. John Kelman, allaboutjazz.com

Tracks:
01 - Soul eyes (Mal Waldron) 07:02
02 - I Don't Know Where I Stand (Joni Mitchell) 06:52
03 - Night Whispers (Marc Copland) 11:20
04 - Into The Silence (Marc Copland) 07:14
05 - Rainy Night House (Joni Mitchell) 05:14
06 - I Should Care (Sammy Cahn, Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston) 09:22
07 - Fall (Wayne Shorter) 04:39
08 - Blackboard (Marc Copland) 07:10
09 - Michael from Mountain (Joni Mitchell) 05:50
10 - Hi Li Hi Lo (Bronislaw Kaper) 04:56

Marc Copland - piano

Recording Dates: Nov 21, 2008, Jun 4, 2009

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EAC Log

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009

EAC extraction logfile from 31. January 2010, 12:57

Marc Copland / Alone

Used drive : PHILIPS SPD3400CC Adapter: 1 ID: 0

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Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
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TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
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1 | 0:00.00 | 7:02.28 | 0 | 31677
2 | 7:02.28 | 6:52.55 | 31678 | 62632
3 | 13:55.08 | 11:20.51 | 62633 | 113683
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8 | 51:46.55 | 7:10.65 | 233005 | 265319
9 | 58:57.45 | 5:50.73 | 265320 | 291642
10 | 64:48.43 | 4:56.51 | 291643 | 313893

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End of status report

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