Time Is The Sea We Swim In
Navona, 2024
8/10
Listen to Time Is The Sea We Swim In
The New York resident Debra Kaye pens solo and chamber pieces for this 2nd release on the Navona label, where many players invite diversity and meticulousness to the 10 pieces.
“While We Were Sleeping” starts the listen with Craig Ketter’s graceful piano mesmerizing us with its fluid and intimate gestures, and the title track follows with Desirée Ruhstrat’s violin, David Cunliffe’s cello, and Marta Aznavoorian’s piano, i.e. The Lincoln Trio, creating both mystery and elegance in the atypical chamber setting.
In the middle, “three zen poems” unfolds across 3 chapters, where James Nyoraku Schlefer’s shakuhachi is complemented by David Yang’s viola and Hikaru Tamaki’s cello, which makes for gentle melodies and a dreamy demeanor, while “String Quartet No. 2” quivers with playful string manipulation via the Voxare String Quartet’s rich and poetic interaction.
Approaching the end, Kaye plays solo piano for the eloquent and harmonic “At Liberty”, and “Colossus 1067” exits with Dan Block’s bright tenor saxophone that suits David Meade’s lively drums and Steve Sandberg’s firm piano.
A colorful body of work that touches on poetry of Zen monks, European Romanticism to a philosophical, and also abstract meditation on time and the creative process, Kaye’s vision is one of artistic and residual value.
Travels well with: Jeff Sigfried/Sean Fria- Shades; Symphonic Chronicles Vol. II