by Thom JurekSeven years after the unprecedented ECM debut, Nothing Ever Was, Anyway, and three years after the stellar Amaryllis, pianist Marilyn Crispell gives listeners another trip down her ever deepening cavern of mystery and imagination. Teamed once again with drummer and composer Paul Motian and new bassist Mark Helias, Crispell builds an even sturdier tension bridge between her increasing focus on harmonic and melodic interplay and dynamic intensity. The polarities are the immediate way into this set, which is so full of ambiguities and spectral presences one could say it is haunted. Crispell's physicality is held in check for most of the proceedings here, but it is ever present. There is a tautness to these performances that is held firmly by the steady, sinewy rhythmic direction of Helias (who contributed two fine tunes to this set). Crispell wrote three pieces for this recording, all of them signifying a direction the ensemble travels in a labyrinthine fashion for a time. These are underscored and elaborated upon in her choice of six of Motian's tunes covering some 30 years. In fact, the title track, which feels like a Crispell signature, was composed by Motian. What sets Storyteller apart from most recordings out there is its depth of feeling and the unveiled manner in which it is displayed. ... Read More...