Rhythm Sonatas 2, 5, and 12 by Earl Louis Stewart have been released by Navona Records, featuring the artists Hope Easton, cello; Sidney Hopson, vibraphone; Thomas Mellan, harpsichord; and Benjamin Ring, drums.
Listen here.
RHYTHM OF THE SPIRIT VOL. 1 from Earl Louis Stewart makes a bold statement: that America’s music — born of sorrow, improvisation, resistance, and joy — belongs within the same canon as Bach or Palestrina. Stewart’s fugues, canons, counterfugues, and retrogrades are written with the strictness of Europe’s 16th and 18th century conventions, yet pulse with the syncopation and soul of ragtime, blues, and jazz.
Review translation: Reading the biography of the African American musician Earl Louis Stewart (b. 1950), one comes across the definition of a composer of “intellectual jazz.” This is an expression that might make jazz musicians and aficionados of the genre cringe. Yet, by delving more deeply into the composer’s work—and above all by listening to his music—it becomes clear that this is in fact a perfectly apt description of his poetics, devoid of any attempt at cultural appropriation or (supposed) cultural elevation.
Stewart has collaborated with major figures in jazz—most notably Julian “Cannonball” Adderley and Kent Jordan—and has conducted several jazz ensembles. More importantly, as a great lover of both classical polyphonic tradition and Afro-American musical traditions, he has sought—and successfully achieved—a synthesis of these two worlds. The result is a substantial catalogue of works in which the contrapuntal art of Bach and Palestrina merges with the harmonies and rhythms of jazz, ragtime, and blues.
The three sonatas recorded here—entitled Rhythm Sonatas Nos. 2, 5, and 12—are a perfect example of this approach. Each is structured as a suite, whose individual movements develop fugues, counter-fugues, canons, and retrograde motions, infusing them with swing and syncopated rhythms. The instrumentation itself—harpsichord, cello, vibraphone, and drums—reflects this dual musical and cultural dimension, producing fresh and engaging sonorities.
The result—thanks also to the masterful interpretation by the musicians involved, who are able to combine attention to formal detail with a vibrant, groove-rich sound—is unquestionably successful and engaging. Some movements may perhaps resemble one another, but the listener’s attention is always sustained and curiosity continually stimulated. I recommend listening to this CD both to jazz enthusiasts and to devotees of classical music.