Christian Sands has been making a name for himself as one of the finest contemporary pianists.
Mack Avenue MAC1209 / MAC1209LP
Christian Sands – piano; Yasushi Nakamura – upright bass (all tracks except 8); Ryan Sands – drums (all tracks except 8); Marvin Sewell – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 9); Andrew Joslyn – violin, viola (tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 9); Eli Weinberger – cello (tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 9); Ross Gilliland – contrabasso (tracks 1, 8); Warren Wolf – vibraphone (tracks 2, 5); Grégoire Maret – harmonica (track 9)
It has been said that Embracing Dawn draws on influences and elements from neo and alternative soul, acoustic jazz-rock and trap-style beats; but don’t let any of this rhetoric put you off.
Christian Sands has been making a name for himself as one of the finest contemporary pianists. His leanings are not towards flamboyant gestures, free improvisation or fast tempos to impress, but his music has a flow and narrative that has the knack of communicating its message loud and clear.
This latest album for Mack Avenue is, Sands says an album that he tried not to write. In going through some personal heartache, the pianist consoled and healed himself in the process of composing, ultimately making the decision to share his experiences and “create a safe space for people to go” when experiencing similar emotions and feelings.
Having said that the album gets off to a rather tentative start in the opening ‘Good Morning Heartache’ that never seems to get going. Much more convincing is ‘Divergent Journeys’ that intersperses a clearly defined theme and writing for strings.
Kicking off with a fine drum ’n’ bass groove is ‘Ain’t That the Same’ with some excellent comping a solo from Sands and equally fine guitar playing from Marvin Sewell, while ‘Serenade of an Angel’ naturally takes a more reflective path. Effectively scored for piano, vibraphone and strings, as the piece evolves, piano and bass strike up quiet dialogue with Ryan Sands’s delicate drumming.
For those who maybe listening on vinyl, when flipping over to side B, the pianist hits the ground running the rhythmically driving ‘MMC’, with Christian really letting himself go in a flowing and lyrical solo.
The penultimate piece of the album, ‘Braises de Requiem I (The Embers Requiem, Move. I) is the showstopper. In fact, everything stops as one luxuriates in Sands’s beautiful melody that is bathed in a delectable arrangement for the strings that lifts the pianist to his most personal and captivating playing of the set.
It is refreshing to note that after this wonderful piece of music that the album does not fall flat at the end, but with the closing title track Sands delivers up another gem featuring the harmonica of Grégoire Maret. Recalling the orchestral style of the Pat Metheny Group with Lyle Mays, what could easily have become a pastiche is instead a triumphant finale to a fine release.
