Meg Okura & Kevin Hays: Lingering
Adhyâropa Records

Between them, violinist Meg Okura and pianist Kevin Hays have played with a remarkable array of artists, but as musical partners they're particularly well-matched. Both are versatile, quick on their feet, and in full command of their instruments, and testifying to the high level at which they operate, their debut album as a duo, Lingering, was laid down in a tidy four hours. Some degree of history preceded that April 6th, 2022 session: the two have occasionally performed together since meeting by chance on a New York City bus in 2014.

Okura received intensive classical training at Juilliard but shifted her focus to jazz after graduation. Following that, she performed with major figures, Lee Konitz and Michael Brecker among them, and established herself as the leader of her Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble. Whereas she has more than ten albums under her belt, Hays been involved in twenty since 1990 and worked with luminaries such as Sonny Rollins, Lionel Loueke, and Brad Mehldau.

While Lingering does include two improvs, the pair otherwise brought composed pieces to the session and thus a certain degree of familiarity with the material. Okura's compositions dominate, with Hays' “Waltz For Wollesen” his solely written piece and the rest hers. Key to the recording is the duo's rendition of her Seven Short Pieces, a Jewish-influenced suite she composed for the duo during the pandemic. The opening improv illustrates the special rapport they share when ideas are exchanged with ease and authority, each participant attending closely and responding to the other's gestures with counter-melodies and left-turns. Hints of country fiddling, post-bop, and even funk emerge as the duo wend their explorative way.

Hays grounds Okura with playing drawn from jazz and classical traditions, and he uses that foundation as an ever-replenishing creative resource. Without wishing to diminish in any way the importance of his contributions, it's Okura who's the main attraction. The duo context grants her ample gifts a terrific forum, and her phrasing and articulation constantly mesmerize. Bowing expressively and sprinkling the performances with pizzicato, harmonics, double stops, and percussive effects, her playing never fails to engross. Knowing the material as thoroughly as she does also enables her to elaborate upon it with unfettered imagination. No one will bemoan the absence of a bassist and drummer when the duo partners infuse their playing with rhythmic heft and drive.

Witness how lovingly Okura caresses the aching melodies of the album's first formal composition “Without Words,” her playing redolent of longing and his bluesy; listen also for the stirring, gospel-tinged episode the two deliver after the introduction. Whereas the subsequent “Again and Again” achieves lift-off when fiddling bolsters its Scottish jig feel, the magnificent ballad “Will You Hear My Voice” tugs at the heartstrings with elegiac tenderness. A performance so artful alone justifies the album's release.

Many a memorable moment arises during Seven Short Pieces, be it the rhythmic thrust animating “Aleph,” down-home swing of “Blues Kachol,” lyrical prettiness of “Maim Korim,” infectious dance feel of “Hora Tarantella,” or radiant uplift emanating from the folk-flavoured “Shamaim.” As the album enters its final stage, the two deliver a stately, Brahms-styled treatment of “Waltz For Wollesen” (featuring some blistering runs by the violinist) and exit the release with a heartfelt rendering of Okura's hymnal title piece. Such a wonderful recording strongly argues for an encore engagement by the duo when Lingering extensively showcases the artistry of both players. The strengths each possesses is well-served by the duo set-up, and no one is a greater beneficiary than the listener.

June 2024