Other songs have a funky swagger to them, like the longest and most ambitious track on the record, “Hard Sole Shoe.” With one of the most addictive grooves I’ve heard in a long time, “Hard Sole Shoe” is a toe-tapping delight of a tune. The piano lines of Jason Moran build over the groove and we almost fear for his life under the wave of orchestral hits.
Some songs slow down and provide an almost rustic tone. The beautiful “Ana Eco” is a perfect example of this, as the strings are highlighted beautifully and the melody is irresistibly sweet. One can almost envision riding over the hill towards a lush, green cottage during the tune’s opening notes. Scheinman’s ability to capture the visual aspects of music and tone are evident throughout her lovely composition.
There’s even an African dance groove present on “Song for Sidiki,” a tune that works delightfully as the rising action in the song gives way to a bebop inspired finale. “Ripples in the Aquifer” give the strings their own solo show and the live track “Einsamaller” is a nice touch.
Crossing the Field is a delightful work that has a very apparent visual style. It’s no wonder, too, as Scheinman typically uses a visual image to serve as a muse for her recordings. Her image for this recording suits it perfectly. “The image for Crossing the Field came to me during the first day of recording. It was a vision of a group of people, young and old, traversing a wide open meadow in a unison of movement.” Lucky for us, Jenny Scheinman has taken us along on her visual journey.
Jenny Scheinman’s Crossing the Field is available on May 27th from KOCH Records.
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