What Is This Thing Called

The language of jazz has many dialects. They can be regional, cultural or generational. One could argue that each musician must be responsible for his or her own dialect, if they are to be a truly distinct talent. An original statement, in this case a tune, presented by any individual musician can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. Paris-born, New York City based pianist Jean-Michel Pilc explores this concept in depth on his new solo release, What Is This Thing Called? Under the most optimal conditions, Pilc recorded what amounts to unique themes and variations based on the much-revered Cole Porter chestnut, What Is This Thing Called Love? Instead of creating a tedious exercise in rehashing similar idea after similar idea, the recording presents a tremendous portrait of the vast musical language Pilc has developed over his three decades as a professional jazz musician. In the end, Pilc came away with thirty different takes on the tune. Included are long improvisations and shorter vignettes, all distinguishable by a particular essence of the original Porter tune in some brilliant fashion, whether it be a hint of melody, a swath of harmonic color or some rhythmic juxtaposition. All of these pieces are completely improvised, and were born in the moment - Instant Compositions is how Pilc likes to refer to them.

Number of Discs: 1

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