Pianist and composer Marilyn Crispell made her debut with ECM Records in 1997 with the stellar Nothing Ever Was, Anyway: The Music of Annette Peacock. Recorded with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Paul Motian, with a guest appearance by the subject herself on one track, it was the first of three trio recordings she made for the label. Amaryllis followed in 2001, with the same lineup, which was in turn followed by Storyteller, where Mark Helias replaced Peacock, and the program centered on tunes by Motian with a couple of her own compositions included as well. Vignettes marks Crispell's solo piano debut with the label and, after listening through a couple of times, one wonders what took her so long. The pianist on this recording barely resembles the fiery player and improviser who accompanied Anthony Braxton for many years, or the musician who led her own intense ensembles or played hourlong improvised solos that had their roots in the physical approaches of Cecil Taylor and McCoy Tyner. Yet, there is a direct line in Crispell's development beginning with Nothing Ever Was, Anyway, where she showed her debt to other players -- Paul Bley in particular. That line flowers in a pair of duet recordings she did with Sicilian reed master Stefano Maltese for Black Saint called, respectively, Red in 1999 and Blue in 2001. Maltese's own approach was as lyrical as Steve Lacy's on the soprano horn, and further inspired the new lyricism in her harmonic invention and compositions.

1		Vignette 1
2		Valse Triste
3		Cuida Tu Espíritu
4		Gathering Light
5		Vignette 2
6		Vignette 3
7		Vignette 4
8		Vignette 5
9		Sweden
10		Once
11		Axis
12		Vignette 6
13		Vignette 7
14		Ballade
15		Time Past
16		Stilleweg
17		Little Song for My Father

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