Jazz violinist Jenny Scheinman has recorded and performed in recent last years with guitarists Bill Frisell's Intercontinentals band and Marc Ribot's Django Reinhardt project, drummer Scott Amendola bands, Indian vocalist Shweta Jhaveri, Brazilian guitarist/singer-songwriter Vinicius Canturaia, radical Klezmer band Pharaoh's Daughter and with Norah Jones on her mega-hit Come Away with Me. In her third solo disc, Scheinman distills all her eclectic past influences into a passionate and personal statement.
Shalagaster - named for an imaginary she-creature with a dolphin's body and bird wings, "like a child's invisible best friend," as Scheinman describes it - is a collaborative project with piano and harmonium player Myra Melford. The two weave myriad influences into the short, focused pieces. Scheinman offers Brazilian and gypsy echoes in "American Dipper (female and male versions)," while Melford keeps the bluesy groove. Both of them dive deep into the rhythm of the work-song "Milk Bottle" and enjoy the circus-gone-mad piece "Wiseacre". Melford’s harmonium turns the Klezmerish "Nigun" into a meditative Indian.
"Tango for Luna" is a showcase Scheinman’s band - Russ Johnson on trumpet, most of the time muted, Trevor Dunn on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums (Dunn and Wollesen played on Scheinman's The Rabbi's Lover, Tzadik, 2001), as well as the longest piece, the Americana-influenced "New View of the Horse," in which Scheinman joins her band only on the last part of this piece. "Zeynebim" is the only nonoriginal piece, composed by one of the pioneer jazz musicians of Turkey, saxophone and flute player Ismet Siral, and is one of the most beautiful pieces here, with its march-like Middle Eastern touches. The closing piece, the quiet "See Through," demonstrates Scheinman modern contemporary influences.
Scheinman is a strong player who likes to twist many genres and traditions into her folk like textures. With a cast of excellent musicians, especially Melford, she can't miss. And indeed Shalagaster is a very inviting and enjoyable disc. With luck, Scheinman will be found in the near future elaborating some of her short pieces, giving them more space and a more distinguished personal edge.
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