CD ECM Records Anat Fort Trio + Gianluigi Trovesi: Birdwatching

2016

Anat Fort - pian
Gary Wang - contrabas
Roland Schneider - tobe
Gianluigi Trovesi - clarinet alto

For her third ECM album, Israeli pianist Anat Fort augments her long-established trio – with bassist Gary Wang and drummer Roland Schneider – with a special guest: Italian reedman Gianluigi Trovesi. Fort and Trovesi have made a number of appearances together in recent years (from Italy’s Novara Jazz Festival to the Tel-Aviv Opera House), to critical acclaim, and Birdwatching, with its lively bright music, takes their rapport to the next level. There is an alert sense of joy in the playing. Of her album’s title Anat Fort says, “Many of my songs are inspired by movements of things in nature: animals, clouds, winds, water… I didn’t know what this record would be called but when I listened to the finished master I knew had to do with the movement of birds, and with watching, listening, waiting. It is as much about bird-watching outside as about watching that inner bird, the soul.” Quartet music is interspersed with improvised solo piano as the story unfolds in a series of vignettes.
Birdwatching was recorded at the Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano, and produced by Manfred Eicher.


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Anat Fort is an Israeli jazz pianist with a Jarrett-inspired touch and phrasing, and a composer with a knack for deceptively simple-sounding tunes that are usually elegant and frequently exquisite. […] ‘Birdwatching’ augments her group with a superb clarinetist here, in Italian maestro Gianluigi Trovesi. The title steers the set, as sunrise is evoked in quietly stirring solo-piano harmonies and the emergence of pert and bobbing clarinet phrases, a storm in swooping glissandi and cymbal showers, and courtship in the call-and-response between Trovesi and Fort in ‘Song of the Phoenix’. Trovesi’s rapturous timbres and impetuous phrasing often make him earthily operatic, and he and Fort improvise animatedly on ‘Murmuration’ without stepping on each other’s toes.
John Fordham, The Guardian

Fort's music reflects her many influences: 80s pop, Middle Eastern music, and jazz. Despite her trio's formation in New York City, there is a definite European flavor, further enhanced by Trovesi's rich alto clarinet playing.
Mark Sullivan, All About Jazz

‘Birdwatching’ succeeds on its mission of delivering an incredible development arc from start to finish.
CJ Shearn, Jazz Views

Pianist Anat Fort’s third album for ECM brings together her established, empathic trio; her distinctive, evocative writing and legendary Italian reedsman Gianlugi Trovesi. The result is a set shot through with wistful lyricism, improvisations that explore moods and textures whilst painting portraits in sound and a quiet, irrepressible optimism. […] Fort and Trovesi make a great team, frequently in counterpoint and Trovesi blending his sound beautifully with the piano. This a gently glowing gem of an album.
Mike Collins, London Jazz News

Listening to this album for the first time, I was slightly thrown by the alto clarinet. Not a familiar voice like the soprano or bass clarinet, hearing over the course of full album took a little time to fully appreciate the range and nuances of the instrument, and assimilate Trovesi's musical language and tone. Playing with a bitter sweet sound, the clarinettist will colour and manipulate his sound, interpreting the written score and reacting to the rhythm section as if he too were a regular fixture of the ensemble. […] Anat is not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but that does not lessen the emotional content of her music. Close listening reveals a sharp mind at work with each idea presented without any excess baggage, just lean and lithe lines that make their meaning felt succinctly before moving on. […] A captivating set that reveals an original voice continuing to grow. It will be interesting to hear how the Anat Fort Trio continue their journey, and I for one would relish the prospect of a solo album from this gifted enthralling pianist.
Nick Lea, Jazz Views

For this outing the threesome is joined by 71-year-old Italian clarinetist Gianluigi Trovesi, and the sympatico element is clear from the outset, with Fort and Trovesi dovetailing snugly along the lilting lines of ‘Earth Talks.’ Then, on ‘Not The Perfect Storm’ the Italian’s dark, woody timbre matches, and complements, Fort’s keyboard ruminations, while Wang and Schneider keep the sonic substratum firmly in place. […] ‘Birdwatching’ further cements Fort as consummate composer and performer, and one looks forward to monitoring her progress into other areas of musical endeavor.
Barry Davis, The Jerusalem Post