Jeremy Siskind - Simple Songs - For When the World Seems Strange (2010)

Pianist, composer, and educator Jeremy Siskind – originally from Irvine, CA, now living in NYC – is “a remarkable pianist” and “a rising star on the jazz scene,” according to legendary pianist Marian McPartland. After many years of studying (Siskind has earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Eastman and his Master’s in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia; he studies piano with Sophia Rosoff and Fred Hersch), performing around the world (since his early teens, originally as part of Yamaha’s Junior Original Concert Program, now as a leader and in-demand sideman), winning numerous awards and scholarships, and performing/recording with the likes of Chris Potter and Marcus Printup, Jeremy Siskind is primed for the release of his debut CD as a leader, Simple Songs (for When the World Seems Strange), available on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records on September 28, 2010.

Siskind filled Simple Songs with music that he would want to listen to, rather than music that would simply show off his talents. The compositions are written melodically and clearly, in contrast to the contemporary trend towards more complex music (in terms of harmony and metrical machinations), and reflect Siskind’s affinity for folk, pop, and contrapuntal, pianistic, and Impressionistic music. However, the music is anything but oversimplified or dumbed-down; it is, in fact, laced with four-voice counterpart, modulations, Debussian harmonies, free improvisation, and more. He explains, “The marriage of powerfully melodic compositions with largely unrestrained improvising joins the two principle elements – (the seemingly opposite) accessibility for the audience and liberation for the performers – that I value most in my music.”

Siskind utilizes this junction of constraint and liberation with the specific intention to inspire and accompany moments in life when the normal world suddenly seems surreal. Simple Songs, writes Siskind, is intended for the times “when it’s suddenly marvelous that a body of people exists that can (and will!) deliver your letter or parcel to a precise location anywhere across the country or the world; or for when the lemonlight of morning seeps through your bedroom window so discretely that the coming day seems to genuflect in silent prayer; or for that instant when your mind momentarily flickers with the realization that every passerby must have a unique consciousness and private history and sea of memories whose depth rivals your own. The music is meant to be at once mysterious and revelatory, a chiaroscuro soundtrack for these frozen moments.”

On Simple Songs, Siskind shows himself to be the consummate modern day pianist, possessing fluidity and swiftness, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic sophistication, and a ruminative approach and touch. In light of his many gifts, the factor that truly gives his music its deep, resonating quality is Siskind’s great self-awareness coupled with his willingness – and finely-tuned ability – to share this consciousness with us through his art.

Jeremy Siskind - piano & compositions
Jo Lawry - voice
Chris Lightcap - bass
Ted Poor - drums