Eliane Elias: So Far So Close (1989)

Eliane Elias' debut for Blue Note is a bit of a disappointment. Having established her credentials as a fine acoustic pianist, she switched back to her less personal synthesizer work and contributed some rather mundane wordless vocals. The music (which includes some solos from tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker on flugelhorn) is not terrible, but it lacks a sense of adventure and sounds as if potential radio airplay was its main goal.

Tracklist:

01. At First Sight (4:53)
02. Bluestone (5:33)
03. Barefoot (4:40)
04. Nightimer (6:10)
05. Still Hidden (1:49)
06. So Far So Close (5:50)
07. Straight Across (to Jaco) (5:44)
08. With You In Mind (2:24)
09. Two Way Street (4:32)
So Far So Close
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Eliane Elias: Cross Current (1988)

Pianist Eliane Elias' second of two Denon CDs recorded before she hooked up with Blue Note is a lesser-known but worthy session. Elias is mostly featured in a trio with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette performing originals, a pair of Charles Mingus compositions ("Peggy's Blue Skylight" and "East Coastin'"), "Beautiful Love," "When You Wish Upon a Star" and Bud Powell's "Hallucinations." Elias was quickly developing into a strong modern mainstream pianist. The concluding number ("Coming and Going") was written by her grandmother in 1927 at age 12 and features Elias with Gomez, drummer Peter Erskine, guitarist Barry Finnerty, percussionist Cafe and nine singers (including a few family members). Well worth searching for. - Scott Yanow
Tracklist:

1. Hallucinations
2. Cross Currents (Elias)
3. One Side of You
4. East Coasting
5. Comin' and Goin'
6. Campari & Soda
7. Beautiful Love
8. Impulsive
9. When You Wish upon a Star
Personnel:    
Jack DeJohnette - Drums
Peter Erskine - Drums, Vocals
Eddie Gomez - Bass
Randy Brecker - Vocals
Cafe - Percussion
Eliane Elias - Piano, Vocals
Doris Eugenio - Vocals
Barry Finnerty - Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Cross Currents
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