The Answer By Ilya Osachuk

 

The Answer

By

Ilya Osachuk

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

It was a total pleasure this morning to wake up and find such an inspiring yet soothing Jazz release to review on my desktop, as the sun streamed in through my studio window, strains of The Answer by one of the top Jazz bassists around in Ilya Osachuk filled the room with a textured delight, what utter bliss indeed was to be found.

The Answer is a nine track compilation of pieces that pay homage to some of his heroes and strangely some of mine, along his musical path, and a few special self-composed moments of Jazz magic too. Starting our voyage is a pure standard in I Cover the Waterfront originally released back in the far off days of 1933 and inspired by the Max Miller novel of the same name, here Osachuk and the band manifest one of the warmest versions of this song I have heard thus far.

Lviv Perspective is a power play of a piece, a track that takes you by the arm and refuses to let go until the last note. This is a classy little creation composed by the artist, and the fluency of piano on this manifestation is certainly something to be utterly enjoyed at a pace, a huge tip of the hat to pianist Tyler Henderson, what a sublime performance.

Another piece composed by Osachuk follows now with the short form narrative on solo bass called Intro (February). This delightfully mesmeric presentation leads us into the full arrangement of course called February, a mood filled opus of multi-instrumental genius, and the percussive elements here were incredibly creative and masterfully artistic, Osachuk’s bass is the chief narrator in a composition that created the soundtrack for one of the most awkward months of a year.

We are now touching the hem of the last half of the album, and as we do so we come across a cheer filled piece called Work, a cascading delight of a performance can be found here by the band, especially Osachuk’s bass, which seemed to dance around the drum beats of Kai Craig in a reimagining of the classic work of my personal favourites Mr. Thelonious Monk, still to this day I wonder how Monk could have conceived such a masterpiece, and this version is equally mind blowing and thoroughly appreciated.

Published in 1946 was a song that would become an all-time standard, and from that day onward a much loved composition by virtually all fans of truly good Jazz, this inspirational manifestation is called Tenderly, and brought into the world by Walter Gross (music) and lyrics by Jack Lawrence, here its hats off to all the members of the band, as this is one of the most sensitive presentations I have heard for decades. With Donald Vega on a delightful piano, his symbiotic partnership with the sublime bass of the artist births a moment I never want to forget.

So we now arrive at the title track, The Answer composed and performed by Osachuk, this is a smooth yet vibrant arrangement with its controls set firmly to thrill mode, here is a presentation to be both admired and utterly enjoyed, a track that if seen live one would be applauding each and every segment and note played, note the driving energy behind Osachuk’s bass, this is something to be truly grateful for.

The penultimate offering from the release is entitled Waltz for J, an almost philosophical offering is created here, one to watch the day go by and ponder and ruminate on life’s rich tapestry, this is bass at its best and also it rounds things up beautifully, allowing us to drift into the concluding offering from what has been a truly breath taking release.

The last gift from the artist is now before us and called Satellite, originally released by one of the finest Jazz musicians of all time in another personal favourite of mine Mr John Coltrane.  1960 was the original release date of this most high stepped piece, and here Ilya Osachuk pulls off a splendid presentation of one of the most complicated Jazz creations birthed by Coltrane, and boy does he do it so very well, with the returning Tyler Henderson on piano, a better ending to such a superb album couldn’t be had.

So a big thanks to The Answer by Ilya Osachuk for getting my day off to the best start ever, a more accomplished Jazz album this year you will not find, it is great to hear truly good Jazz standards and original works all together in one musical room, and here on this album one will find a timeless reverie of Jazz brilliance and some of the best bass work ever by a man who certainly knows and loves his trade in Ilya Osachuk with The Answer, it certainly gets top marks from me.