Á

Robert Kaddouch
& Gary Peacock
53rd Street
ODRADEK 507
High Line
ODRADEK 508
In this centennial year of Thelonious Monk’s
birth it is incumbent on us to remember how
important it is to stay open to novel means of
expression on traditional instruments. Life
would be dull indeed without the discovery of
unique voices like Mary Halvorson or Mark
Guiliana. That said, there remains a need for
originality to coexist with technical facility,
particularly if an artist chooses to position himself
alongside a proven master.
In his liner notes to this pair of duet performances
with veteran bassist Gary Peacock,
pianist Robert Kaddouch writes of a desire
to maintain purity in his improvisations,
which he compares to the expression of children.
It would be unfair to imply that his playing
is childlike, but there is a lack of fluidity
and variety in his playing that undermines his
desire to walk a “high line” of risk-taking harmonic
invention. Simply put, Kaddouch can’t
swing, as his playing on his original “53rd
Street” demonstrates. His preferred approach
is to roll out long strings of right-handed notes,
frequently extending to the extreme high end
of the keyboard. These linear melody lines are
highly articulated, but the effect is of someone
being very deliberate about the notes played as
opposed to someone who is playing the notes
effortlessly, with little interplay between left
and right.
With Peacock locked in, that shouldn’t be
much of an issue, but there seems to be little
connection with the bassist. Peacock, who
has sounded integral to the improvisations of
Paul Bley, Marilyn Crispell, Keith Jarrett and
so many other pianists, appears to be playing
independently, and Kaddouch seldom allows
him to take a lead role. Peacock takes no solos
and shows little motivic progression of his own.
On the shorter, more impressionistic High
Line, the pair moves closer to true collaboration,
and Kaddouch sometimes displays a
circular, chiming attack that is a relief from
his pedestrian-sounding treble lines. On
“Windline,” he makes some interesting harmonic
choices and enters into more interplay
than anywhere else on these two recordings.
As the title suggests, “Gary’s Line” finds
the bassist steering as much as he follows, and
while Kaddouch occasionally plays himself
into a dead end, his use of chords here leavens
his shaky lead lines.
In theory, Kaddouch’s approach to music
making—the desire to sound as free as a
child, to mix Jewish folk music with traditional
Western songs—is intriguing, but his chops
don’t seem up to the challenge he sets out for
himself.
—James Hale
53rd Street: 53rd Street; Jingle Bells; A Foggy Day; On The Sunny
Side Of The Street; A La Clairefontaine; Agile; Ani Pourim; V’haer
Enenu; Besame Mucho; Lover Man; Ygdal; What Is This Thing
Called Love? (60:20)
Personnel: Robert Kaddouch, piano; Gary Peacock, bass.
High Line: Blues; Snowline; Gary’s Line; Windline; Skyline; MS1014;
High Line; High Line II; High Line III. (41:13)
Personnel: Robert Kaddouch, piano; Gary Peacock, bass.
Ordering info: odradek-records.com
FEBRUARY 2017 DOWNBEAT 79