Philip Aaberg and Darol Anger | Cross Time
Published: January 13, 2010
Philip Aaberg and Darol Anger’s Cross Time is a series of pieces the duo has performed for several years in concerts all over the West. Taking classical, jazz, Broadway and Americana forms and throwing them into a big stewpot, the pianist from Chester and the nationally known violinist continue to turn music on its ear in their latest collaboration.
It’s a good thing, not only for music lovers in general, but for history buffs, who will hear a framework of tradition give way to something new. They boogie-woogie Gershwin right off the bat, for crying out loud!
After the tease of a preliminary riff, George Gershwin’s “Prelude No. 1” gets the barrelhouse piano rolls from Aaberg. Then Anger bends notes like Grappelli, chuckin’ rhythm ensues, Aaberg cooks it up, and they meet for a knockout ending.
Bix Beiderbecke’s “In a Mist” is atmospheric at the outset, proceeding to get all squiggly with dissonance. Anger’s own “Pumpkin Time” is moody and rolling, and then up creeps “Blues” from Ravel’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano in G.” It tiptoes in on stealthy notes, then Anger’s violin weaves through spooky musical corridors while Aaberg’s chords whisper apace. It seems like these fellows saw Walt Disney‘s “Fantasia” many times as kids, like a lot of us, and yes, Ravel does sound perfect this way.
There’s a silky flow to the pair’s interplay on the contemporary “String Quartet No. 1, mvt. 2” by Mendoza, with its nuance of Chinese modality. And Anger’s “Basin and Range” gets finger-snappin’ rhythm and a bit of fiddle.
A highlight is “La Chemin Riel: The Road to Batoche/Grey Owl/OokPik Waltz/Red River Jig.” It’s a 15-minute set of mostly traditional fiddle tunes the duo learned from Metis master fiddler Jimmy LaRocque of the Turtle Mountain Reservation on the U.S.-Canadian border. A throbbing intro builds, with Anger’s notes flitting about Aaberg’s grounded keyboard work. We hear a rollicking Irish reel, with Aaberg playing sustained chords that sound almost harp-like, then old-timey jamming, with pretty unison lead. The piece slows down into the waltz, followed by lots of rhythmic interplay.
Great dynamics here, as the duo segues from piece to piece. Cool! This work, improvised according to a pre-set outline, is part of an ongoing Metis Heritage project that is partly funded by the Montana Arts Council and Helena Presents.
Aaberg and Anger have ripped these formats from their bedrock and sifted them according to their personal playing styles, which are so complementary from much performing together. This intertwining has allowed them to create something very familiar, yet refreshingly modern. Music’s forte is to be constantly re-invented, after all, and on this CD, the two musical masters take that challenge to heart.
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– Mariss McTucker
