ZOFO Plays Terry Riley
Eva Maria-Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi
Sono Luminus DSL 92189
Review
The following is an excerpt from Keyed In (September 2015) which can be read in its entirety here.
Composer Terry Riley has for years been an ambassador for Western musicians who find a strong attraction to a creative mélange of minimalism, eastern traditions, polyrhythms and generally “out there” edgy adventurism. His all-night improvisations in the mid-60s in Philadelphia are legendary. His many collaborations with the likes of Chet Baker, The Who, Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet are equally so. It’s no surprise then, to find the piano duo (four hands) ZOFO recording an entire CD of his works. Eva Maria-Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi began their duo collaboration in 2009 and since then have issued four CDs. This latest, ZOFO plays Terry Riley (Sono Luminus DSL 92189) reflects their appetite for the unconventional. To be sure, their few discs do cover some standard repertoire but there is a strong drive in this pair of San Francisco-based performers to find and play the most challenging music they can handle. The result is never short of pure excitement.
Jaztine, the opening track, suggests what might have happened had Gershwin reinterpreted Ravel’s deconstructionist La Valse. Simone’s Lullaby is remarkable for its hypnotic bell-like piano playing. G Song has the feel of a Bach fugue making new friends at a jazz/blues jam session, and Praying Mantis Rag is brilliantly light-hearted fun from start to finish.
