Kyle Aho - Rituals

Facts ... a brave harmonic and spatial improviser... (he) views the piano as an orchestra full of surprises... if he were a painter we would marvel at his blending of 'abstract' and 'representational'... (his music is) emotional and intellection... joyous in it's creativity. - Michael Steinman. Nine poems and phrases are the heart of this wide-ranging project by composer/pianist Kyle Aho for his Missouri-based jazz quintet, along with vocalist Christin Bohrisch. Selecting poetry & text that underscore the artist's struggle for transcendence through creativity, Aho's search over the last decade revealed works from ancient voices such as Mayadeviyaka & Symeon, poems from Walt Whitman & Franz Kafka, and three of his own mother's works (Margaret Aho). The longing resonating from the texts connected with Aho, much as the music of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and Keith Jarrett. With short solo piano and instrumental pieces creating a sense of balance, flow, and discovery, the poems set to Aho's compositions express a yearning for communion and spirituality, for an existence beyond the physical. "Aho is one of the most intelligent, perceptive, and skilled musicians I have ever come across." - Bob Brookmeyer