On her last recording (made with her clarinetist brother Idris, who guests with her fine jazz trio here), pianist Zoe Rahman explored her family origins on a repertoire of traditional songs from Bengal. This live set from Soho's Pizza Express Jazz Club returns her to the trenchant jazz-improvising style she learned from the formidable American Joanne Brackeen, among others, and it's perhaps the best example of her full-on jazz talents she has so far released. This terrific session suggests she has been inspired by the playful, post-Monk methods of that ornery octogenarian Stan Tracey. A train-rhythm feel and dissonant chord-melody theme kick things off on the Abdullah Ibrahim original The Stride. Drummer Gene Calderazzo follows Rahman's every rhythmic feint and diversion on Mário Laginha's Há Gente Aqui, and Friday the 13th particularly suggests the Tracey sound in its swinging chords and crisp runs surging out of unceremonious clangs. The folksier episodes echo Gilad Atzmon's brand of eastern-influenced world music, and the eager confidence and fluency of the way Rahman's solos break out of the themes confirm her ascent to an impressive new level. ~ John Fordham, TheGuardian.com.
Manushi Records, MANUCD003, 2009
Recorded Live at London's
Pizza Express Jazz Club in April, 2007
Musicians:
Zoe Rahman - Piano
Oli Hayhurst - Bass
Gene Calderazzo - Drums
Idris Rahman - Clarinet
(#2,5)
Tracks:
1. The Stride {Abdullah
Ibrahim} (6:34)
2. Ha Gente Aqui {Mário Laginha} (7:18)
3. Friday 13th {Joanne
Brackeen} (5:53)
4. Tuang Guru {Abdullah
Ibrahim} (8:02)
5. Muchhe Jaoa Dinguli
{Hemant Mukherjee} (4:05)
6. Harlem Blues {Phineas
Newborn} (5:48)
7. Egyptian Dune Dance
{Joanne Brackeen} (5:15)
8. Last Note {Zoe Rahman}
(8:54)
Total Time: 51:52
