Playfair Sonatas
Ethan Iverson
Urlicht Audiovisual (musicalconcepts.net/recording/ethan-iverson-playfair-sonatas)
Ethan Iverson is a pianist and composer who helped found the American jazz group The Bad Plus in 2000. He has performed jazz with a diverse group of musicians over the years (Lee Konitz, Ron Carter, Ingrid Jensen etc.) and composed for a variety of groups along with writing on music for several magazines. Playfair Sonatas is named after Piers Playfair who agreed to pay Iverson’s studio’s rent for six months in exchange for him composing six sonatas where Playfair would choose the instrumentation.
Along with piano accompaniment, the six instruments are: violin, marimba, clarinet, trombone, alto saxophone and trumpet. All the works are lively and take advantage of each solo instrument’s unique characteristics. For example, Violin Sonata is relatively classical sounding while Alto Saxophone Sonata includes classical, Broadway and jazzy lines. One of the most intriguing aspects is where Iverson dedicates a movement to well known musical figures. For example, Clarinet Sonata II (Music Hall) is dedicated to Carla Bley and it has a sultry and ironic melodicism which matches Bley’s musical personality. Violin Sonata II Blues (for Ornette Coleman) is melodic with brief forays into atonal territory which matches Coleman well.
Playfair Sonatas is an elegant and innovative addition to the world of chamber music.
