Julian Shore - Where We Started (2020)

Pianist Julian Shore immerses the listener in journeys, both physical and emotional, as he assembles a stellar band, capable of conveying his deeply personal observations on Where We Started. Many of the players have long-standing shared histories. Shore has toured, performed, and recorded with saxophonists Caroline Davis (4 tracks) and Oded Tzur (closing track only) in their own groups. After years of playing Shore’s music, drummer Colin Stranahan is an anchor through the album’s shifting aesthetics. And at times the musicians share a unique sound that makes them seem as one such as Dayna Stephens (tenor and soprano) on EWI blending with Edward Perez’s arco bass on the opener, “Preludio” which sets an ethereal, eerie tone for what follows.

The sound of Ben Monder’s guitar bookends Where We Started, from the album’s introductory moments to the closing title track. The guitarist contributes to Shore’s sonic as only he can, crafting each piece’s specific atmosphere. It is fitting that “Preludio” carried the working title of “Guitar Song”; the album reflects Shore’s connection to guitarists, both as sources of inspiration and as collaborators. “The seed for that [piece] started with a Zsófia Boros solo guitar record for ECM,” says Shore. “I was hypnotized by its intense purity of sound, even simply how the silence allowed space for the microphone to pick up all her subtle movements.”

While this is Shore’s first record not to feature any singers, vocal music is the source of two tracks. The band interprets the 16th-century madrigal “O Vos Omnes” by the Italian prince Carlo Gesualdo, as well as Gil Evans’ iconic arrangement of Gershwin’s “Oh Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess.” Evans’ arrangements shaped Shore’s approach as a composer and pianist here, particularly in the bold use of counter lines and shades of color that can sometimes obscure melodies. Shore often favors complex textures and emotional nuance over single lines and simple meanings. Likewise, Shore also found himself moved by Gesualdo’s desperate retreat into composing as a means of processing the unthinkable. Gesualdo, aside from being a revered composer, is also known for the murder of his family after discovering his wife in flagrante delicto with her lover. “His music is an incredible mix of darkness and lightness, the holy and powerful mingles with intense drama and uncertainty. “