Precepts
Infrequent Seams, 2021
8/10
The pianist and composer Eli Wallace is never one to surrender to convention, and here he steps away from his jazz roots for a classical affair that’s quite artistic and takes help from Erica Dicker (violin), Lester St. Louis (cello) and Sean Ali (double bass).
“I” opens the listen with screeching strings and much alluring noise that creaks and twists with a very abstract approach, and “II” follows with precise plucking that is fleshed out with much attention to space and tension, where a harrowing, highly manipulated presence makes an indelible mark.
The back half of the listen offers the buzzing bowed strings and busy mashing of the extremely adventurous “III”, and “IV” exits the listen with a chilling rumbling that showcases many strings colliding at once with no shortage of an atmosphere that might soundtrack a sci-fi flick.
A listen that puts much emphasis on pitch and is technical in ways that few, if anyone, could replicate, the song topics like isolation certainly pertain to these pandemic times, as Wallace and company deliver a classical, chamber and improvisational adventure.
Travels well with: Anna Heflin- The Redundancy Of The Angelic: An Interluding Play; Ty Citerman- Bop Kabbalah + Voices: When You Speak Of Times To Come