Leslie Pintchik - Prayer for What Remains (2024) [Hi-Res]

Prayer for What Remains is pianist/composer, Leslie Pintchik’s eighth album. In a personal note that follows the liner notes of her new album, Pintchik writes that the title track “was inspired by a photo taken by the war photographer Joseph Eid. In it, a man smoking a pipe in Aleppo, Syria sits in his bombed-out bedroom, listening to music on a manual gramophone that operates without electricity. A tragic image of war, yes, but one that Eid said ‘talks about life’ as well.” When she listened in the studio to the playback of “Prayer for What Remains”, Pintchik says she was especially moved by the performance of the musicians who played “so true to the tune’s emotional core.” This new album showcases her gifts as pianist, composer and arranger, and features eight of her original tunes, along with a cover of Joni Mitchell, and one from the Beatles. As on her previous albums, Pintchik performs with a touch both delicate and robust: caressing ballads like “Private Moment,” digging into hard-edged funk on “Just Sayin’” and “Request Denied!”, and swinging with effervescence on “Over Easy,” all while enjoying exceptional support from her long-time bandmates. In his liner notes for the album, Allen Morrison writes that Pintchik’s music “still doesn’t sound like anyone else’s. I always recognize her voice at the piano within a few measures... Her playing has a thoughtful, conversational quality; listening to her is like chatting with a dear, clever, complicated friend.” About Pintchik’s bandmates, he says, “The telepathy that the trio achieves on this record is something possible only after many years of close collaboration. The same uncanny synergy and creativity can be heard with the addition of Satoshi Takeishi and Wilson.”

Tracklist:
1-1. Leslie Pintchik - Prayer for What Remains (04:38)
1-2. Leslie Pintchik - Later Than We Thought (05:13)
1-3. Leslie Pintchik - Request Denied! (03:52)
1-4. Leslie Pintchik - Private Moment (05:04)
1-5. Leslie Pintchik - Over Easy (06:03)
1-6. Leslie Pintchik - I Will (04:45)
1-7. Leslie Pintchik - Banquet (05:29)
1-8. Leslie Pintchik - Open Secret (03:52)
1-9. Leslie Pintchik - Grief (04:15)
1-10. Leslie Pintchik - Just Sayin' (Live) (04:54)