Myriam Alter - IF (2002)

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Belgian composer/pianist Myriam Alter learned to play the piano in her childhood but left the music field for quite a while. At 36 she returned to the instrument and soon discovered her skills as a brilliant composer with an individual approach to romantic moods. Her last recording, Alter Ego, released in 1999, was warmly accepted by critics and audiences alike (Jazzman: ****, Jazz Hot: Sélection, Jazzthetik: ****, Image Hifi: First choice, Fono Forum: ****). The German magazine Jazz Thing read: “A candidate for the record of the year." And Fono Forum added: “Charming, sensitive music." Coming from a Judeo-Spanish family (Sephardic Jewish), Myriam Alter was raised with all kinds of music such as Latin, Italian, Oriental, Spanish, South American and classical. As a piano player she was trained in classical music but later found her way into jazz. Her new album If is about all the cultural influences that have formed her as a person and as a musician. “It truly expresses what I am and where I come from without compromising for any style or fashion," she says. As the music breathes Andalusian air and bows to Tango Nuevo, the composer consequently asked one of the great masters of bandoneon into the focal role: Argentinian improviser Dino Saluzzi, known for his extraordinary collaborations with jazz musicians. Myriam Alter leaves the piano part to Kenny Werner: “He is the better pianist, I am the better composer. I asked these extraordinary musicians to play my songs because I knew they would instinctively understand what I intended musically." Recorded by Joe Ferla at Manhattan's finest studio (Avatar), If is a carefully produced artistic project colored by the rare sound combination of bandoneon and clarinet. A wonderfully elegant album, If radiates with subtle melancholia and gripping melodicism. A real discovery. All compositions by Myriam Alter, performed by: Dino Saluzzi - bandoneon John Ruocco - clarinet Kenny Werner - piano Greg Cohen - bass Joey Baron - drums recorded June 2001 Avatar Studios, NYC

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Track List:

1. Waking Up (3:55)
2. Home (4:05)
3. If (5:47)
4. I Think Of You (6:12)
5. It's All There (4:44)
6. Children Play (3:41)
7. An Intrigant Melody (7:11)
8. Moving Somewhere (4:58)
9. You Should Stay (4:00)
10. Where You Belong (4:28)