To my delighted ear, his opening movement’s pianism works as a burr under the saddle of the high-riding, mellifluous riffs in the clarinet. I’ve been singing some of the motifs ever since.
– Seth Colter Walls, The New York Times
Playfair Sonatas is emotionally rich and direct, saturated in whimsy and melody. (Perhaps due to the blend of playfulness and melancholy, perhaps due to the anthology-like nature of these six musical short stories, or perhaps due to the album artwork from New Yorker veteran Roz Chast, the album bears a strange spiritual resemblance to Wes Anderson’s terrific movie The French Dispatch.)
– The Hurst Review
The album cover makes you think this will be a playful album. And I suppose on some levels it is. But it’s also a solidly written, produced and performed addition to the contemporary classical music canon – one filled with plenty of references to legendary jazz musicians…Playfair Sonatas is an album I will return to over and over again.
– Cultural Attaché
Ethan Iverson is one of the foremost jazz pianists of his generation….Technically Acceptable and Playfair Sonatas are significant recordings in Iverson’s catalog, the former demonstrating his finesse as a writer of jazz originals and the latter combining a cornucopia of traditions into eminently successful notated works. One hopes that both approaches remain part of his prolific creativity. Two favorite recordings from 2024.
– Sequenza 21
Iverson’s activities have long straddled the divide between the classical and jazz worlds, and he’s clearly at home in both types of music…these are pieces that gleefully go their own ways.
– The Arts Fuse
Delightful art, informative booklet, and rewarding music that brings a dash of jazz seasoning to chamber music make Playfair Sonatas an irresistible release for music lovers of the jazz and classical persuasions alike.
– Classical Candor
Each soloist was asked follow the score but to play the piece bringing as much personal style as they wish, stretching the boundaries between classical and jazz styles. This is Iverson’s principle aim, to create new and exciting music at the boundaries between the two styles.
– MusicWebInternational
Since leaving The Bad Plus, pianist and composer Ethan Iverson has produced a wide ranging, creative and eclectic catalogue. His latest release has him in the classical world of sonatas…the music is delivered with respect, wonder and serenity. The Good Plus.
– Jazz Weekly
É jazz? É clássico? Não. É a musica de Ethan Iverson.
– Cultura Brasil
Renowned jazz pianist and composer Ethan Iverson has had a string of best-selling jazz albums for Blue Note, ECM, Fresh Sound, and Sunnyside. Iverson has long been interested in the intersection of jazz and classical music, and his professional life has led him to excel in both disciplines.In 2020, artists everywhere hunkered down to do pandemic projects. Over dinner that summer, impresario Piers Playfair and Iverson did a deal: in exchange for subsidizing six months studio rent, Iverson agreed to write six “classical” sonatas incorporating jazz and popular idioms and rhythms, with Playfair choosing the instrumentation. Iverson relished the opportunity to create on deadline, and the work went quickly and smoothly.
Piers and Ethan both dove into their deep virtual Rolodexes, consulted colleagues, and eventually enlisted six leading soloists committed to new music performance from around the world – violinist Miranda Cuckson, trumpeter Tim Leopold, trombonist Mike Lormand, clarinetist Carol McGonnell, marimbist Makoto Nakura, and saxophonist Taimur Sullivan. During the summer of 2023, Miranda introduced Ethan to Urlicht AudioVisual’s owner Gene Gaudette after a recital in Brooklyn. Ethan was a fan of the iconoclastic indie label, and that meeting led to a plan to record the sonatas. Over two days in December, Gene produced the recordings with audiophile engineer Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio. New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast created a CD cover that captures the music’s appealing, animated spirit.
Playfair is delighted with the results. “It’s cool that out of a COVID dinner we were able to put a project together that so encapsulates one of our joint core beliefs, that divisions that split music, such as jazz, classical, blues etc, into neat little boxes are really just names that people put on them and shouldn’t define the artists.”
It was Playfair’s direct suggestion that the cycle needed the bookends Fanfare and Recessional with all members in consort.
Ethan Iverson: Playfair Sonatas
Violin Sonata – Miranda Cuckson
Marimba Sonata – Makoto Nakura
Clarinet Sonata – Carol McGonnell
Trombone Sonata – Mike Lormand
Alto Saxophone Sonata – Taimur Sullivan
Trumpet Sonata – Tim Leopold
Recessional – The Full Ensemble
Ethan Iverson, piano
Recorded at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, New York, December 2023
Engineered and edited by Ryan Streber
Produced by Gene Gaudette
Executive producer: Piers Playfair