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| Rachel Eckroth and John Hadfield’s ‘Speaking In Tongues’ is out February 28, 2025 via Adhyâropa Records Adhyâropa Records is proud to announce the February 28, 2025 release of Speaking In Tongues, the spirited new duo release by inventive pianist-composer-vocalist Rachel Eckroth and imaginative drummer-percussionist-composer John Hadfield. Inspired by themes of religion, mythology and astronomy, Speaking In Tongues is a thrilling exploration of improvisation, blending spontaneity, precision, and artistic depth. Speaking in Tongues is the result of a deep, and highly compatible musical connection between Eckroth and Hadfield, who first met in 1996. After reconnecting during a recording session in Europe in 2022, the pair discovered their shared musical language and began collaborating. Their dynamic interplay, described by Eckroth as "catching the same rhythms" and "musically linking up really well, " led them to seize the opportunity to record together at Sierra Studios in Athens, Greece, in late 2023. Conceived as a piano and drum project, the album transcends the duo tradition and produces an expansive, intricate sound buoyed by Eckroth and Hadfield's varied instrumentation. In addition to her Steinway Grand piano, Eckroth's rig includes a Wurlitzer 200a, a Vintage Vibes Electric Piano, various synthesizers, the instantly recognizable Mellotron M4000D and the Moog Subsequent 25. Hadfield's drum set is augmented by various percussion instruments including crotales, kalimba, Myanmar bells and Morfbeats Gamelan Strips, plus the OP–1, a Roland TR-808 drum machine, a patterning drum machine, and Ableton Live. This multi-layered approach lends the record a richly textured and immersive soundscape, sonically outsizing the sum of its parts. Speaking In Tongues brings together two master musicians with varied and rich experiences. Endearingly called a "shapeshifter" by WBGO, and known for her work with St. Vincent, Rufus Wainwright, and Chris Botti, Eckroth's solo breakthrough came in 2021, when her album The Garden (Rainy Days) received a GRAMMY nomination in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category. Since then, Eckroth has been extraordinarily prolific, releasing two acclaimed albums including a transcendent solo album, One and a rapturous live recording, Humanoid. Hadfield's eye-popping resumé includes stints with Kinan Azmeh, Ron Blake, Petros Klampanis, Nguyên Lê, Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, Lenny Pickett, and Kenny Werner, as well as four albums as a leader. In 2016, Modern Drummer magazine said Hadfield "created hybrid drumkit/percussion setups that ingeniously serve the music . . . His skillful sound-weaving choices create the illusion of a seamless multi-percussion section." These two unique voices converge on Speaking In Tongues, which Eckroth and Hadfield refer to as a "democratic" unit. Noted journalist Sharonne Cohen, who contributed liner notes to the project, aptly described Speaking In Tongues as "filled with an adventurous spirit, weaving creativity and unpredictability in a way that feels highly compatible and well-synchronized at the same time." The album title, as Eckroth shared with Cohen, draws inspiration from the concept of glossolalia — speaking in unintelligible sounds often tied to religious rituals. Initial inspiration for the project was found in STAGED, a solo exhibition by pianist-composer-artist Jason Moran, which sought to complicate the relationship between music and language, exploring ideas of intelligibility and communication, and investigating the overlaps and intersections of jazz, art, and social history. Upon seeing the exhibition at a gallery in Brooklyn, Eckroth picked up an LP at the gift shop on her way out. She noticed, on her favorite side of the record, a small image of Jesus. "The music on that side was more floaty and free, inspiring my song "The Jesus Side." After, it just spiraled into this idea of different things people have believed in throughout history. Different aspects of religion, " Eckroth reflected. Hadfield, who is originally from Missouri, told Cohen, "that's kind of the flavor of religion that you find there, that is the most common in the Bible Belt." The title track penned by Hadfield, began as a kind of rhythmic puzzle around which the bass line soon emerged. "I really like the off-kilter and unpredictable effect that it created, " Hadfield said. "When Rachel and I talked about the concept of the album, this rhythmic feel conjured images of people speaking in tongues; that is why we settled on that name. I also liked the fact that this process of glossolalia created an unknown language that is not even comprehensible to the speaker. This mystery of divinity was more of my musical focus than any sort of specific religious reference." Each song title references a religious, scientific or astrological meaning. The album opens with "God Particle", a reference to the Higgs boson, subatomic particle whose existence answers certain universal questions and raises new ones. Within her expressive liner notes, Cohen described the track's "spacious, other-worldly atmosphere" with Eckroth's wordless vocal alluding to "the thing that everything sparked from." The angular "Jeanne D'Arc" follows. "As we were working on the record, " recounted Eckroth, "we'd go into old Catholic churches, just to be there. One in France had a statue of Joan of Arc, a historical figure who represents female strength and bravery. I was thinking about how she supposedly heard the voices of the Saints, and that's why she acted as she did. It took me back to the idea of belief. What do you believe in?" The album continues with Hadfield's "Blood Moon, " alluding to the red glow of a total lunar eclipse, and Eckroth's "The Gospel Of, " which references her Christian upbringing. At the midway point, the hymn-like "Sanctus" takes cues from the late Carla Bley, who has served as a major influence for Eckroth, while Hadfield's "Andromeda, " named for the constellation and its mythological namesake, "is for the listener to really see the constellation and mythological story, " said Hadfield. "This was also on my mind because in Athens, where we recorded, one is literally surrounded by this ancient mythology." His kalimba (thumb piano) enhances the celestial nature of the tune, "with the individual hits representing stars in this swirling sky, created by the processing of the sounds." The aforementioned "The Jesus Side" and the title track come next, before a pair of concluding, improvised pieces, "Phase and Libration Part 1" and "Part 2". "It's more on the astrological theme, the way the moon is perceived by people from Earth, " said Hadfield. "Embracing the unknown aspect of glossolalia is how we approached the improvised pieces. There was no predetermined discussion or direction. It's so hard to verbally explain what you do when you truly improvise, similar to how it's difficult to truly verbally explain a religious connection." As Cohen describes in her liner notes, "the unifying themes of the album — mythology, religion and astronomy — are, as Eckroth put it, 'different things that guide your decisions in life.' Reflecting on the similarities between music and religion, she noted that 'there's this intangible element to both, on some levels.' For Hadfield, what serves as religion in his life is music. Reaching for this ethereal quality, Eckroth and Hadfield have created a boundary-pushing, genre-defying sonic space that is soul-stirring, thought-provoking and altogether captivating." Derived from liner notes by Sharonne Cohen. Tracklisting: 1. God Particle (Eckroth/Hadfield) 2. Jeanne D'arc (Eckroth/Hadfield) 3. Blood Moon (Hadfield) 4. The Gospel Of (Eckroth) 5. Sanctus (Eckroth) 6. Andromeda (Hadfield) 7. The Jesus Side (Eckroth) 8. Speaking In Tongues (Hadfield) 9. Phase And Libration Part 1 (Eckroth/Hadfield) 10. Phase And Libration Part 2 (Eckroth/Hadfield) Tour Dates: March 7 - Nublu, New York City March 8 - The Statuary, Jersey City, NJ March 9 - Rizzoli Bookstore, New York City write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |