Steve Kuhn / Sheila Jordan Band
Playground
ECM Records (Germany) 1980
ECM 1159 (LP) Original pressing.
sleeve : VG+(dirts)
media : EX+/EX+(some slightly noise)
Released in 1980, this album brings together American pianist Steve Kuhn, active since the early 1960s and responsible for numerous outstanding recordings on ECM, and American vocalist Sheila Jordan, whose career likewise dates back to the 1960s. Harvie Swartz on bass and Bob Moses on drums complete the quartet. Throughout the album, the instrumentalists play with beautifully restrained tension, placing each phrase with understated depth, while Jordan’s distinctive, slightly fragile voice floats elegantly above the ensemble. The result is a collection of refined and beautifully poised performances. Particularly outstanding are A3 and B1, where Kuhn’s melodic piano gradually rises in intensity as though emotion itself were building with the passage of time. Original German pressing.
A3: Poem For No. 15
B1: The Zoo