Dan Tepfer – Eleven Cages (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

2017 release from pianist Dan Tepfer – whom New York magazine dubbed “one of the moment’s most adventurous and relevant musicians”. Eleven Cages features Tepfer returning to the jazz piano trio format for the first time since the 2010 album “Five Pedals Deep”. All Music Guide described the album as “inventive” and “intense”, while Stereophile judged it simply “beautiful”. For Eleven Cages, Tepfer sought to explore the concept of freedom within boundaries, as well as the malleability of time in music.

Pianist Dan Tepfer makes an excellent point here, reminding us that the concept of freedom is actually built on architectural stability. With Eleven Cages Tepfer has his Thomas Merton moment, likening the framework of each song to the walls of his newfound freedom. He recognizes and emphasizes the fact that different structures are housings for exploration and creation, not handcuffs on the imagination or rigid dictates in design methodology.

Tepfer’s well-formed views on the permanence and plasticity of time guide his trio’s explorations across this album. Each piece toys with seemingly paradoxical rhythmic truths in fascinating ways without coming off as too academic or painting itself into a “math music” corner. There’s truly an organic sense to the manner(s) through which this trio merges intellectual curiosity with emotional expression. That’s clear in the way rhythms coalesce, part ways, and produce tension (and some release) on “Converge”; it’s obvious in the way this trio takes to the shadow dwelling dubbed “Minor Fall,” where everything breathes with a sense of wonder; and it’s notable on “Hindi Hex,” where Tepfer’s variable touch and articulate expressions on the piano are put to good use in a North Indian-influenced environment.

Tracklist:

01. Dan Tepfer – Roadrunner (05:14)
02. Dan Tepfer – Minor Fall (04:32)
03. Dan Tepfer – 547 (06:15)
04. Dan Tepfer – Gage Free I (02:41)
05. Dan Tepfer – Converge (05:30)
06. Dan Tepfer – Hindi Hex (04:34)
07. Dan Tepfer – Little Princess (03:56)
08. Dan Tepfer – Cage Free II (02:25)
09. Dan Tepfer – Single Ladies (06:07)
10. Dan Tepfer – For It (03:12)
11. Dan Tepfer – I Loves You Porgy (03:05)