An evocative, lyrical recording,
Wave of Sorrow documents the musical friendship of Moldovan pianist
Mikhail Alperin (known as
Misha) and Russian French horn player
Arkady Shilkloper. The two draw heavily on
Slavic folk influences, even as they mine the kind of airy, contemplative
jazz harmonies associated with the
ECM school.
Shilkloper doubles on flugelhorn and jagdhorn (a curled hunting horn);
Alperin takes up the melodica on the very sparse title track and sings wordlessly, even hams it up a bit, on the dervish-like
"Unisons." The program balances sprightly Russian dance rhythms like
"Poem" with more stately, quasi-
classical interludes like
"Song" and
"Miniature." The session's eclecticism peaks, however, with
"Short Story," an outlandish melding of
Russian folk references and
boogie-woogie piano riffs, with joyous vocal shouts and clapping thrown in for good measure. ~ David R. Adler
![The Epic [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5054429002300_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "The Epic [LP]")
