YVONNE ROGERS

THE BUTTON JAR

Pyroclastic Records

Yvonne Rogers, solo piano.

The album title of “The Button Jar” is a reflection of the artist’s childhood and the button jar that her artistic mother kept for craft projects.

“It felt like a jar of possibilities,” Yvonne Rogers explained. “You could use it for any number of projects, but you had to know how to properly sew the button on. So, it became a balance of whimsical fun and meticulous craftsmanship.”

The title tune unfolds like so many scraps of colorful fabric and various sized colored buttons, all sparkling seductively through a glass jar.  Her piano solo is enticing, in a colorful way. Bits and pieces of melody are tapped out in the treble register, above the left hand that lays down a rhythm and sometimes, counter melodies. This tune, like most of the music on this album, marshals in childlike wonder, capsulized in a complex and often intricate use of rhythm, melody and harmony.

On the completely opposite end of the former song arrangement, “Cloud Chorale” is quite melodic and peaceful. It reflects a pensive beauty, with Rogers’ presentation unfolding like a freshly pressed, velvet jacket, decorated with solid gold buttons that sparkle in the moonlight. It’s three minutes of bliss and sensuous creativity. Similar to the surprising ending of “The Button Jar” tune, it ends without warning. Suddenly, the presentation just stops.

“I was immediately struck by Yvonne’s playing,” the founder of Pyroclastic Records (Kris Davis) said. “I’ve continued to follow her work and have been especially impressed by the solo piano videos she regularly shares on Instagram. She has a unique and personal harmonic and melodic language.”

The musical pendulum swings from the aching, delicate ballad of “Thread and Needle” that starts out rubato and mysterious, with harmonized, haunting chords that build the mystery, like a detective movie soundtrack. Then she changes, introducing the staccato energy of “Linear Gel.” Sometimes her music is relaxed and compelling like the composition she calls “Puzzle Building” that is quite jazzy. On the other hand, a song she titled “Avid Risks” sounds totally Avant-garde.

This pianist and composer is a multimedia artist, originally from Maine but currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Yvonne Rogers is a 2024 Next Jazz Legacy Awardee, a grant that recognizes outstanding women in jazz, established by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. This solo album is just a small piece of Rogers’ legacy work.  She has performed with several jazz masters including Miguel Zenon, Sullivan Fortner, Lionel Loueke, Elena Pinderhughes, Ingrid Laubrock’s Lilith, and Adam O’Farrill’s ‘Elephant’ group. She also leads her own quartet. Yvonne Rogers says that one of her greatest influences was Geri Allen. In fact, her composition “Linear Gel” is an anagram celebrating Geri Allen’s name.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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