The New York Times critic Nate Chinen described Matt Mitchell as “a pianist of burrowing focus” – an image of undeviating fervour neatly suited to Mitchell’s intense virtuosity and concentration. New York saxophonist/composer Tim Berne hired him as a sideman in 2009 on discovering that the newcomer had holed himself up for a year reinventing Berne’s mindbending band scores as solo keyboard pieces, and this album – overseen by Berne, package-designed by graphic artist Steven Byram, and produced by guitarist David Torn – reveals what astonished him. Mitchell’s fusion of improv skills and imagination in melding Berne themes together has resulted in a unique tribute. Sometimes Mitchell suggests a solemnly deliberate Cecil Taylor as he stirs whirlpools of dark chords and skimming runs; on OErbs (all the titles are opaque), he creates a kind of headlong avant-swing; Cloude has the drive of Keith Jarrett in abstract mood; and Berne’s more lyrical and ballad-like themes receive contrastingly pensive treatment. It’s uncompromising music, but made with an affectingly urgent devotion.
