Return (Jack DeJohnette album)

Return is a studio album by American jazz musician Jack DeJohnette.[2] It was released in France via Newvelle Records label.[3] Return is the label's second release and available in vinyl only by subscription only.[4]

Return
Studio album by
Jack DeJohnette
Released2016
StudioEastside Sound Recording Studios (NYC)
GenreJazz
Length38:19
LabelNewvelle Records NV002LP
ProducerElan Mehler, Jean-Christophe Morisseau
Jack DeJohnette chronology
In Movement
(2016)		 Return
(2016)		 Hudson
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[1]

Background

Return is his first solo piano record in some 30 years after his earlier piano-led trio album The Jack DeJohnette Piano Album—hence the name. The album contains 10 solos performed on piano, nine of them are written by DeJonette. Track "Ode to Satie" pays tribute to the short, atmospheric Gymnopedies composed by French pianist Erik Satie in the late 1800s.[5] Track "Dervish Trance" takes its cue from the whirling dances of the Sufi dervishes. "Lidya" is dedicated to DeJohnette's wife. The black-and-white cover photo is taken from the portfolio of famous French travel photographer Bernard Plossu. The album inner sleeve reproduces a poem by Pulitzer Prize-winner American poet and educator Tracy K. Smith.[6] To record the album, DeJohnette used a handmade Italian 9' Fazioli Pianoforti piano that produces a gorgeous sound with dynamics rarely found on piano recordings. The tracks were digitally recorded at 24 bits/88.2 kHz by Marc Urselli at Eastside Sound Recording Studios in New York City and mixed to vinyl with an analog console. The album was pressed on clear 180-gram vinyl in France.[7]

Reception

Jeff Wilson of The Absolute Sound stated "Return is his first solo album on the ivories: it’s just him and a nine-foot Fazioli grand piano... The sound is close-up and immediate, allowing DeJohnette to play with a subtlety that would be lost with more remote miking and letting the listener feel the full weight of the lower notes of the piano. Return is a lovely album that reveals yet another side to Jack DeJohnette".[8] Karl Ackermann of All About Jazz commented "The compositions, while translated in an unpretentious way, often sound simpler than they are. In DeJohnette's album notes, he acknowledges that he did not overthink the process of recording the album, saying that he wanted the flow to be natural; the title referring to a return to uncomplicated beauty. He has achieved just that".[1] Nate Chinen of the New York Times added "it’s an album of careful contemplation and obvious personal stake. The piano goes even farther back than the drums for Mr. DeJohnette, whose style on “Return” is austere but sonorous, with viscosity in his touch and use of pedal sustain".[9] Jeff Krow of Audiophile Audition wrote "The crystalline acoustics feature crisp pedal sustain, and the high register notes are almost piercing in their clarity. This is contemplative music, highly percussive, rhythmic, with deeply felt emotion. Jack expresses his musical talents with vibrant colors and sonorous tone".[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jack DeJohnette except for "Ponte De Areia" written by Fernando Brant and Milton Nascimento.

No.TitleLength
1."Ode to Satie"4:53
2."Ebony"4:00
3."Silver Hollow"5:11
4."Lydia"3:34
5."Blue"2:01
6."The Dervish Trance"4:16
7."Indigo Dreamscapes"2:40
8."Song for World Forgiveness"4:22
9."Exotic Isles"3:56
10."Ponte De Areia"3:26
Total length:38:19

Personnel
  • Jack DeJohnette – piano
  • Elan Mehler – producer
  • Jean-Christophe Morisseau – producer
  • Marc Urselli – recording
  • Andrew Burke – art direction
  • Alex DeTurk – mastering

References
  1. ACKERMANN, KARL (3 June 2016). "Jack DeJohnette: Return". All About Jazz. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  2. "Jack DeJohnette – Return". Discogs. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  3. "Jack DeJohnette - Return". Newvelle Records. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  4. Fremer, Michael (27 September 2016). "Newvelle Records Completes First Year and Funds Second". Analog Planet. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  5. Crowley, Lean (May 5, 2016). "Jack DeJohnette releases first piano solo album". Jazziz. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  6. Winston, Geoff (May 25, 2016). "LP REVIEW: Jack DeJohnette, solo piano - 'Return'". London Jazz News. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  7. Davis, Dennis (3 August 2016). "Jack DeJohnette • Return". The Audio Beat. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. Wilson, Jeff (10 May 2016). "Newvelle Records: A New, All-Vinyl Jazz Label". The Absolute Sound. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  9. Chinen, Nate (May 4, 2016). "Review: Jack DeJohnette's 'In Movement' and 'Return' Show Sweep". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  10. Krow, Jeff (27 May 2016). "Jack DeJohnette, piano – Return – Newvelle – vinyl". Audiophile Audition. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
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