Press & Reviews
New York Jazz Guide
Dan Bilawsky
2010
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Pianist Eric Muhler, who resides on the West Coast, has a great deal of variety in his musical background. Rock, small group jazz, film score work, solo piano and work in the world of dance, accompanying dancers, all inform his piano playing. His new CD, Something New, plays off of the old adage that a bride should have something old, new, borrowed and blue. These words are listed, as a subtitle of sorts, on the album cover.
The album begins with "Something Old (What's The Woogie?)" and a vague and mysterious musical picture is the first thing we hear. Little by little things take shape in a much more blues-informed style of piano playing. While this piece has a driving rhythm that controls things and moves the music along, Muhler also takes the opportunity to mix some interesting harmonies, lyrical lines and boogiewoogie influenced licks into his playing.
While the "old," "new" and "blue" references in the with Muhler originals, it is safe to assume that "borrowed" refers to the four classic pieces that the pianist mixes into the album. "God Bless The Child," often taken at a very mild tempo, is treated to a slightly more spirited rendition from Muhler. The pianist isn't afraid to use the theme as a springboard for some interesting melodic excursions and he holds onto the spirit of the song throughout. "Sweet Dreams" has a solid groove and a highly accessible and appealing sound, buoyed by the logic and sound of Muhler's left hand line and the more melodious right hand work. Cole Porter's "All of You" benefits from Muhler's mixture of Spanish-tinged sounds and lines that, typifying Cole Porter's compositional spirit, stay closer to many other versions of this song.
As a young child might be prone to do in the situation indicated by the title, Muhler's piano lines seem to explore, search and seek out new, mystical lands during "Young Boy In The Big Woods." Boogie-woogie, blues, soul, swing and ragtime have a head-on collision during Muhler's run through "The Preacher" by Horace Silver and the result is a highly enjoyable rendition of this song. While parts of "Something New" have a dark and dangerous sound, one can sense that Muhler's scoring background likely had some impact on the rippling, waving, New-Age-ish lines that make up a good part of this song.
"Sunny Muslin," one of the most absorbing Muhler pieces on the album, is a true exercise in tension building and suspense. Muhler slowly lets the music snowball and, at the height of the piece, the pianist plays some inspired McCoy Tyner-esque clusters that gnaw at your musical soul. While he certainly took his time building to a climax, Muhler is able to easily dissolve the tension, coax you into a comfort zone and then toy with the tension again as things gain steam and then die down to conclude this piece.
After the pianist winds his way through "Bluesette," the last of four "borrowed" compositions on the album, he gets to his own "Something Blue." This piece is a standard twelve-bar blues that gives Muhler the opportunity to launch into some raunchy and raucous riffs that would have seemed out of place on some of the other material, but are right at home on this tune.
"Nicole Caterina" begins with a soft, sweet, sweeping sound, resides in this musical area for a while, builds up to a more forceful sound and ends up in a musically peaceful place. "Travelin' Light" mixes rock and jazz and features some great licks over a repetitive left hand bass line, creating an energetic piece that has some Vince Guaraldi-like traits to it. During the final minutes of this piece, which concludes this live solo piano recording, Muhler begins to unravel the musical fabric of this song and brings things to a quiet conclusion.
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