Thee They Thy

Judith Berkson, mezzo-soprano, pianist, composer and improviser returns on ECM with a compelling new album. “I view the pieces on this recording as a natural extension of my solo work,” says Judith Berkson. “This idea of songs that are quite intimate and personal, informed by jazz with pockets of improvisation but also drawing from song traditions, and avant-garde traditions in their harmonic and melodic material, embracing elements of minimalism and even conceptual art.” The 2010 album Oylam documented Berkson’s creation of her own vocal language and approach to songwriting and the idiosyncratic keyboard accompaniment to support these elements: “I worked on that concept for years.” The logical next step was to develop those ideas in a group context. “Certainly I'm tipping my hat to the classic jazz trio with piano, drums and bass. I thought that would be fun, if I had the right people.”