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Montreal native and improvisational pianist Marilyn Lerner explores her heritage musically with 11 conceptually chosen eastern and central European compositions – traditional Jewish folk pieces – giving them a free-jazz improv spin without sacrificing their unique character.
Recorded in the gold-standard acoustic environment of the Glenn Gould Studio, the album commands the listener’s ear by jumping around in styles and approaches to the material. Whether playing klezmer, classical or free-form jazz – she’s all over the place – Lerner never sounds lost or out of control as she affectingly unearths the emotional essence of each work.
Lerner breathes contemporary life into these compositions from another world and era.
Lerner swings by the Leah Posluns Theatre Sunday (June 3).
