Rating: Four stars
Since leaving Adelaide to study for a Masters at New England Conservatory, Boston, USA in 2009, having graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Elder Conservatorium, pianist Mathew Sheens, predictably, has gone from strength to strength. Now, as a follow up to his acclaimed 2013 release Every Eight Seconds, this new album was also recorded in New York.
The new collection Untranslatable, continues the pianist’s compositional excursions into semi-classical forms, utilising the Yanni Burton string quintet on four tracks blended into swinging interludes from piano, bass and drums. Sheens’s other interest, also evident in the previous album, is the inclusion of vocal arrangements flawlessly performed on both albums by ex-Portuguese vocalist Sara Serpa in mostly wordless mode. Two other performers from the earlier album are also present: bassist Linda Oh and percussionist Rogerio Boccato. There are some fine guitar solos from Mike Moreno, especially a fast-flowing sequence, after a unison passage with the vocalist on Dépaysement. Male vocalist Michael Mayo appears on three tracks, including an impressive interpretation of the standard Old Devil Moon with just Sheens’s imaginative solo piano accompaniment.
The Sheens original Madrugada tosses a Latin classical theme back and forth between piano and string quintet, interspersed with some quick bass patterns and adds an excursive guitar solo punctuated by percussion and Ken Walters’s drum kit. Another Latin piece Alfonsina y el Mar, by famed Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez, is a sad tribute to the poet Alfonsina Storni who drowned in 1938, featuring Spanish lyrics delicately delivered by Serpa.
There are two shortish Interludes on the album, both solo piano pieces suffused in classical influences. The title track opens with a staccato attack from the strings, soon giving way to the jazz trio’s rhythmic passage, but strings return to provide occasional backdrops and building to the quintet’s robust, rapid-fire conclusion.
This is a most unusual and varied album containing elements of rhythmic jazz improvisation, semi-classical modes, and vocalists, plus a wide range of instruments. Sheens is a fine pianist capable of swinging solos and introspective moods, and his compositions show a high level of ability. His achievements are recognised by his inclusion as one of four finalists in the highly regarded 2014 Freedman Fellowship Awards.
This year’s prestigious award was decided on August 20th in play-off concerts at the Sydney Opera House. The $15,000 prize, after lengthy deliberations in what was obviously a difficult decision for the three judges, was awarded to Aaron Choulai a pianist from Melbourne now living in Japan. Choulai intends to release a new album in October. The other finalists were trombonist Shannon Barnett from Melbourne, who spent time working in New York before being offered a full-time position in the WDR big band in Cologne Germany, and well-known Melbourne vocalist Gian Slater.
Review by John McBeath
