Memento

叙情的で繊細な音楽性をたたえた、マリリン・クリスペルとアンデルス・ヨルミンの初デュオ録音作品。

両者の交流は長年続くものの、デュオとしての録音は今回が初。 ECMでは、米国人ピアニストのクリスペルは以前、ヨルミンの聖歌集『In Winds, In Light』(2004年)に参加しており、彼女は自身の音楽的思考に影響を与えた人物としてこのスウェーデン人ベーシストを挙げている。
「アンデルスの演奏を聴いた時、私の心の奥深くに強く共鳴する響きを感じたのです」とクリスペルはコメント。
本作は、空間を意識したデュオ即興演奏の力強い連作で幕を開け、その後、各プレイヤーによる作曲作品へと移行する。 「Three Shades of a House」はヨルミンがボボ・ステンソンとの共演作『Contra la indecision』で披露した楽曲で、ここでは「Morning」と「Evening」の変奏で演奏される。前者はクリスペルを前面に押し出した透明感あふれる主題の探求、後者は暗色調のベースによる瞑想だ。クリスペルの「ニューキーの浜辺」はコーンウォールの海岸線をスケッチし、ヨルミンの高音域の弓奏ベースがカモメの鳴き声を想起させる。アルバムはゲイリー・ピーコックへの追悼曲「トンボ」で締めくくられる。全編を通じて、ミュージシャンたちはルガーノのオーディトリオ・ステリオ・モロRSIの繊細で細部まで響き渡る音響に応え、このアルバムは2025年7月にマンフレッド・アイヒャーによってプロデュースされた。
＜パーソネル＞Marilyn Crispell(p) Anders Jormin(double-b)

American pianist Marilyn Crispell and Swedish bassist Anders Jormin are highly individual improvisers and composers with diverse and sometimes idiosyncratic styles. Theyve worked together occasionally since 1995, and both have long relationships with ECM. They first appeared on a recording together on 1995s Spring Tour, with drummer Raymond Strid, recorded in Sweden. In 2014, the pianist played on the bassists In Winds, In Light. Memento, recorded in Lugano in July 2025, marks the first time theyve recorded as a duo. The album showcases original compositions and four freely created works that introduce the album. "For the Children" is remarkable for its seeming formalism. Crispell enters softly offering a poignant reflective melody; Jormins bowed bass enters quietly, offering harmonic and expanded lyrical support. Its dedicated to the memory of innocents caught in wars across the globe. It includes plaintive Eastern tinges via Jormins expressive arco playing in the upper register over gently rumbling then serene piano passages. Later, he underscores Crispells intimate ruminations pizzicato. The reflective feel of the work sets the tone for the entire album. "Dialogue" is common in solemnity that four minutes later gives way to "Embracing the Otherness." The duo listen to and employ space as a key improvisational element, exploring tonalities in the upper registers of their instruments. They conclude this quartet of free compositions with the meditative, yet quiet conversational openness of "Contemplation in D." The individually composed works commence with Jormins "Three Shades of a House" (originally included on the Bobo Stenson Trios 2018 set Contra la Indecision) and are offered in "Morning" and "Evening" versions. They contrast in texture, tone, and luminosity, the former a ghostly dialogue dominated by piano; the latter a gorgeous recap and responsorial via bass solo. Crispells "Song" has roots in "Song for Jeanne Lee" from the 90s. Despite its brevity at 3:14, it offers two exploratory solos before the pair come together in rumination during the final third. While the brief title track serves as a thoughtful interlude, it introduces Crispells "Beach at Newquay." Jormins bowed bass intro resembles seagull cries, as delicate piano notes fall gently, offering an evocation of nature on the Cornish coast; Crispells playing comes across at different points like sunlight glittering over sea waves before picking up the mantle of Jormins avian theme. The set closes with "Dragonfly," written in memory of Gary Peacock. Nearly hymnlike in its simplicity and reverence, it offers abundant tenderness in farewell. The true beauty of Memento is in this duos discovery of an intimate common language based in spaciousness and languid grace that offers genuine emotion -- not merely shared virtuosity -- as a bridge to intimate communication that reaches beyond the music itself. ~ Thom Jurek