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"A welcome stream of fully notated music by the jazz pianist and composer Ethan Iverson... To my delighted ear, [the Clarinet Sonata's] opening movement's pianism works as a burr under the saddle of the high-riding, mellifluous riffs in the clarinet. I've been singing some of the motifs ever since."

Seth Colter Walls, "The Classical Music Our Critics Can't Stop Thinking About", The New York Times, 3 December 2024

"Delightful art, informative booklet, and rewarding music that brings a dash of jazz seasoning to chamber music make Playfair Sonatas an irresistible release for music lovers of the jazz and classical persuasions alike."

Karl Nehring, Classical Candor, November 2024

"[A] significant recording] in Iverson's catalog... combining a cornucopia of traditions into eminently successful notated works."

Christian Carey, Sequenza21, December 3, 2024

"A solidly written, produced, and performed addition to the contemporary classical music canon - one filled with plenty of references to legendary jazz musicians which you can hear throughout."

Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché, November 15, 2024

- New music from one of jazz's most innovative composers and pianists

- Ninety minutes of fun, witty sonatas in the classical style played by world-class musicians that your customers - and you - will enjoy listening to!

- Original cover art by popular New Yorker magazine cartoonist Roz Chast captures the spirit of the music

- 2 CDs for the price of 1

- General and targeted press promotion campaign in October and November will guarantee consumer awareness

Renowned jazz pianist and composer Ethan Iverson has had a string of best-selling jazz albums for Blue Note, ECM, Fresh Sound, and Sunnyside. Iverson has long been interested in the intersection of jazz and classical music, and his professional life has led him to excel in both disciplines.

In 2020, artists everywhere hunkered down to do pandemic projects. Over dinner that summer, impresario Piers Playfair and Iverson did a deal: in exchange for subsidizing six months studio rent, Iverson agreed to write six "classical" sonatas incorporating jazz and popular idioms and rhythms, with Playfair choosing the instrumentation. Iverson relished the opportunity to create on deadline, and the work went quickly and smoothly.

Piers and Ethan both dove into their deep virtual Rolodexes, consulted colleagues, and eventually enlisted six leading soloists committed to new music performance from around the world - violinist Miranda Cuckson, trumpeter Tim Leopold, trombonist Mike Lormand, clarinetist Carol McGonnell, marimbist Makoto Nakura, and saxophonist Taimur Sullivan.

During the summer of 2023, Miranda introduced Ethan to Urlicht AudioVisual's owner Gene Gaudette after a recital in Brooklyn. Ethan was a fan of the iconoclastic indie label, and that meeting led to a plan to record the sonatas. Over two days in December, Gene produced the recordings with audiophile engineer Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio. New Yorker cartoonist Rob Chast created a CD cover that captures the music's appealing, animated spirit.

Playfair is delighted with the results. "It's cool that out of a COVID dinner we were able to put a project together that so encapsulates one of our joint core beliefs, that divisions that split music, such as jazz, classical, blues etc, into neat little boxes are really just names that people put on them and shouldn't define the artists." It was Playfair's direct suggestion that the cycle needed the bookends Fanfare and Recessional with all members in consort."

Ethan Iverson: Playfair Sonatas

Recorded at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, New York, December 2023

Engineered and edited by Ryan Streber

Produced by Gene Gaudette

Executive producer: Piers Playfair