Maine-based artist Aaron Wyanski consumes with a creative jazz-led immersion on a new trio of songs, paying homage to legendary composer Arnold Schönberg. The three tracks show stirring personalities across SCHOENBERG: Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11, which continues Wyanski’s interest in Schönberg and his concept of atonality, in particular. Wyanksi’s talents as a composer, pianist, and musicologist combine with the reverence for Schönberg’s work, resulting in a riveting sound throughout this release.
Schönberg’s influence on modern jazz is unmistakable, and music in general, too; the role of dissonance in modern music, and the array of creativity in songwriting and production that prompts, certainly counts Schönberg as among its influential theorists. Artists like Frank Zappa and Philip Glass are also notable inspirations for Wyanski. As a result, SCHOENBERG: Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11 is filled with a delightful range of tonal twists and turns, attributed also to Wyanski’s astute mastery of dissonance and atonality.
“Mäßige” opens the album with a tempting intrigue. Smooth saxophone and twinkling appeal traverse quickly into brisk rhythmic spurts, moving back and forth between subdued introspection and hastened entrancement. The dynamic opener leads cohesively into the epic “Sehr langsam,” invoking a western-y cinematic flair in its brooding twangs. Ghostly vocal elements and pit-pattering percussion add an exotic mystique, as do occasional flourishes of strings. “Bewegte” caps it all off with playful, brassy charisma. SCHOENBERG: Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11 is another stellar showcase from Wyanski, following previous releases in the series: SCHOENBERG: Sechs kleine Klavierstücke, Op. 19 and SCHOENBERG Suite Op. 25.
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“Mäßige” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
