ETHAN IVERSON - Technically Acceptable - BLUE NOTE RECORDS / Pianist and composer Ethan Iverson follows-up his 2022 Blue Note debut Every Note Is True with Technically Acceptable, a far-ranging new project that presents two different trios-Thomas Morgan/Kush Abadey and Simon Willson/Vinnie Sperrazza-performing a set of striking new Iverson originals plus singular new versions of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "'Round Midnight." The album concludes with the recorded premiere of Iverson's Piano Sonata which is given a tour-de-force performance by Iverson himself.
The Purity of the Turf is kind of a "bucket list" moment for Ethan Iverson, who has always wanted to make a record with famous bassist Ron Carter. Iverson, pianist of the famous trio "The Bad Plus", chose drummer Nasheet Waits to fill out the trio, because Waits represents the avant-garde as well as swing. Criss Cross records are level playing field, with everyone recording in the same studio in a single day: Thus the sporting title, "The Purity of the Turf." The repertoire is mostly originals and jazz classics. A surprise highlight is the solo piano tribute to the late Paul Bley, "So Hard it Hurts" by Annett Peacock.
Saxophonist Lee Konitz began his career in the wake of Charlie Parker but he became arguably the only saxophonist to offer an alternative to Bird's overwhelming influence at the time. It is not surprising then that free-thinking and improvising Konitz would gravitate to the post-modern sensibilities of Ethan Iverson, best known as the pianist in the Bad Plus and a composer of extremely wide range and versatility. Together they offer a wildly creative set list where past and present combine to teeter on the edge of the future.
