Anat Fort - The Dreamworld of Paul Motion - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Occasionally, there are musical visionaries who suggest new ways to approach performance and composition. Drummer Paul Motian was one of these visionaries. Though he has been gone for nearly 14 years, Motian's freeing of the drums and folk-like melodies influence the generations that have followed him. Pianist Anat Fort continues to honor his sound and approach, dedicating her new recording, The Dreamworld of Paul Motian, to his memory and highlighting his music, both known and unknown.Fort first heard Motian on recordings by the great Bill Evans Trio. She was immediately smitten with his musical approach to the drums and delved deeply into his catalog. When she moved to New York City, Fort made sure to catch all the Motian gigs that she could. Eventually, Fort began playing with longtime Motian associate, bassist Ed Schuller, and ventured to see if Motian would be willing to play with her.Their first musical meeting would result in Fort's 2007 recording, A Long Story. Motian's enthusiasm for the music led him to propose from ECM Records. From there they remained in touch, performing intermittently. Motian's last performance before his passing was with a group Fort led at Cornelia St. Café. Fort has long wanted to put together an album of pieces written by Motian. She had studied his music and lead sheets from the volumes of The Compositions of Paul Motian, which were compiled and published by Cynthia McGuirl, but she had a hard time deciding on which to record. Concurrently, Fort realized that any project that she took on with Motian's music would require more than a piano trio. She always considered Motian's music as guitar driven, thus she reached out to guitarist and Motian alumni Steve Cardenas to become a part of the project. Cardenas would be instrumental in suggesting tunes and, eventually, assisting with mixing and mastering. For the recording, Fort also en