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Occasionally, there are musical visionaries who suggest new ways to approach performance and composition. Drummer Paul Motian was one of these visionaries. Though he has been gone for nearly 14 years, Motian’s freeing of the drums and folk-like melodies influence the generations that have followed him. Pianist Anat Fort continues to honor his sound and approach, dedicating her new recording, The Dreamworld of Paul Motian, to his memory and highlighting his music, both known and unknown.
Fort first heard Motian on recordings by the great Bill Evans Trio. She was immediately smitten with his musical approach to the drums and delved deeply into his catalog. When she moved to New York City, Fort made sure to catch all the Motian gigs that she could. Eventually, Fort began playing with longtime Motian associate, bassist Ed Schuller, and ventured to see if Motian would be willing to play with her.
Their first musical meeting would result in Fort’s 2007 recording, A Long Story. Motian’s enthusiasm for the music led him to propose release from ECM Records. From there they remained in touch, performing intermittently. Motian’s last performance before his passing was with a group Fort led at Cornelia St. Café.
Fort has long wanted to put together an album of pieces written by Motian. She had studied his music and lead sheets from the volumes of The Compositions of Paul Motian, which were compiled and published by Cynthia McGuirl, but she had a hard time deciding on which to record.
Concurrently, Fort realized that any project that she took on with Motian’s music would require more than a piano trio. She always considered Motian’s music as guitar driven, thus she reached out to guitarist and Motian alumni Steve Cardenas to become a part of the project. Cardenas would be instrumental in suggesting tunes and, eventually, assisting with mixing and mastering.
For the recording, Fort also enlisted her longtime collaborator and bassist Gary Wang, along with drummer Matt Wilson, on whose gig she first met Wang. The connection between the four musicians is deep, reinforced by Wilson and Cardenas’s connection to the Academic program of the New School that Fort teaches at in Tel Aviv and years of playing together.
The choice of material was hard to make, as there are Motian pieces that Fort considers untouchable. Fort delved deep into the Motian’s composition books and pieces supplied by former Motian bandmates in order to record and unveil five previously unrecorded Motian tunes along with some of his celebrated, released output.
The recording begins with “Dreamworld,” a previously unreleased piece that Fort imagined doing as a duo with Cardenas but found more inviting with the bass support of Wang. Motian’s iconic “Mumbo Jumbo” finds tempestuous energy and a classical feel in the group’s arrangement. The haunting melody of “Yallah” is anchored loosely to an in and out of time feeling, a departure from Motian’s original free concept for the song, while the previously unreleased “Riff Raff” (the chart a gift from guitarist Ben Monder) has a downhome funky sound and a row-like approach to the child-like melody.
“Tacho” was written for an eccentric individual Motian met while playing in a circus. Never released, the tune is performed by Cardenas, Wang, and Wilson while Fort reads the story of Motian told of his friend in his diary. “Prairie Avenue Cowboy” is a sumptuous bit of Americana, Cardenas’s guitar familiar with the piece from an earlier recording of his. On perhaps Motian’s most beloved song, “It Should’ve Happened a Long Time Ago,” the trio avoids self-indulgence in the song’s beauty and provides a light but lush performance.
The quartet plays the never recorded “Umh Hum” in a swinging fashion with Wilson providing drum breaks between Fort and Cardenas’s counterpoint like lines. Next, Fort revisits “Tacho” solo to get her hands on the ruminative piece. A classic of the Keith Jarrett Quartet, “Byablue” was a piece Fort knew she had to perform, done here with an austere bluesy, serpentine vibe. Having recorded the piece with Motian, Cardenas’s guitar was the perfect voice to accompany Fort’s piano on “Arabesque,” an exquisite bookend to the recording.
The study of Paul Motian’s music uncovers a masterclass in modesty and simplicity. The performance of these pieces requires skill, patience and trust. Anat Fort assembled a tremendous ensemble to honor the music of Motian on her new album, The Dreamworld of Paul Motian.
Anat Fort - piano
Steve Cardenas - guitar
Gary Wang - bass
Matt Wilson - drums
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