Shuteen Erdenebaatar: Rising Sun
Motema

A remarkably poised debut from twenty-five-year-old Shuteen Erdenebaatar, Rising Sun sees the Munich-based pianist turning in one of the year's most striking albums. Growing up in a home filled with classical and opera music (her father enjoyed a four-decade tenure as director of the National Mongolian Opera), she naturally gravitated to the study of classical piano and composition, which she did at the State Conservatory of Ulaanbaatar. It was her exposure to jazz through a Goethe Institute program that proved pivotal, however, in revealing that she was also capable of playing beyond notes on the page. That led to the acquisition of masters degrees in Jazz Performance and Composition at the conservatory in Munich and the path she's now on.

Rising Sun is a jazz quartet recording, full stop, yet there's no question her classical background is a foundation of her playing. The technical skill and compositional sophistication reflected in the performances and writing on the album are ample proof of that. Like any smart jazz composer, she structures her pieces so that each has a clear identity and provides a framework conducive to individual expression. Encompassing a generous range of styles and moods, her eight originals offer superb vehicles for small-group interplay and individual soloing.

With the pianist receiving fabulous support from bassist Nils Kugelmann, drummer Valentin Renner, and Anton Mangold on flute and saxophones, the level of musicianship is high and the energy level at times explosive. The chemistry between them is certainly one of the album's main selling-points, though it's hardly the only one. Interestingly, the album was recorded after live performances of the material, the Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet having first worked through the tunes over five nights at the Unterfahrt Jazz club before entering Munich's Realistic Sound Studio in December 2021. It proved to be a canny move as with all involved familiar with the compositions the performances exude a live energy and go-for-broke abandon.

Erdenebaatar's pianistic prowess is evident the moment Rising Sun begins with “In a Time Warp”; it's the writing, however, that really catches the attention. Mangold, Kugelmann, and the leader each give voice to the tune's beautiful folk theme, with a bass solo leading in to a rhapsodic, tension-building solo by her and a soaring one by Mangold on soprano sax to close out this dynamic statement. The energy level's maintained for “Ups and Downs,” the furious tempo powered by tight drumming and solidly anchoring bass. The leader's jazz chops get a thorough workout in her solo, and the same could be said about Mangold when his soprano wails against the high-velocity backdrop.

Having initiated the album with uptempo displays, the leader knows it's time to slow things down. To that end, things take a wistful turn in “Summer Haze” when the pianist ruminates alone for three minutes, before the group tackles intimate balladry in “Olden Days,” a soloing Erdenebaatar opting for soulfulness over sentimentality and an alto-wielding Mangold elevating the intensity. His versatility's on display again when his flute's the primary mover for “An Answer From a Distant Hill,” an infectious, hard-burning throwdown.

November 2023