10 Seconds: Kezia Abuoma

https://www.instagram.com/keziaabuoma/

1. Miles Davis - Eighty One (4'09" - 4'19")

from Miles Davis - E.S.P (1965)

"Nikki Yeoh introduced me to this album in a piano lesson and ever since I have had a huge love for the second great Miles Quintet and this era of Miles’ career in particular. I think the music from this time has the enchanting quality of these great musicians reaching beyond what they know, getting lost and exploring new areas in the music, which for me creates a profound emotional depth. Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil was one of my first encounters with jazz and I was immediately drawn in by his astounding melodic sense and his mastery of phrasing and space. This excerpt from his solo on ‘Eighty-One’ is an example of how Wayne conjures up melodies that speak directly to your soul, he is a true example of an improviser who composes in real time and I am amazed by how this melody he plays could be the head of a tune in and of itself."

2. Miles Davis - All of You (9'20" - 9'30")

from Miles Davis - In Concert (1964)

"This album is one of my all time favourites, I could’ve probably included any 10 second excerpt from any point in the album but this iconic solo of Herbie’s has become a source of real inspiration for me. This moment shows the magical synergy of Ron Carter, Tony Williams and Herbie Hancock when all three simultaneously mark the end of the form with a rhythmic gesture that miraculously aligns with the others. There is the resultant contrary motion between Ron and Herbie followed by the hit on beat two from Ron and Tony that for me creates a sense of the rug being pulled from underneath my feet. It is so exciting to listen to a rhythm section that are so in tune with one another."

3. Chick Corea - Matrix (2'40" - 2'50")

from Chick Corea - Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968)

"This burning chorus of blues flies by in 10 seconds, so many things about this excerpt stand out to me: his awesome chromatic ascent out of dissonance and darkness into the clear bright intricate lines he plays right in the upper register of the piano coupled with Roy Haynes’ charged syncopated interjections in response. I am so energised and amazed by the clarity of Chick’s touch and the creativity, precision and virtuosity of everyone on this album."

4. Ella Fitzgerald - Mama Come Home (1'48" - 1'58")

from Ella Fitzgerald - The War Years

"This early period of Ella’s career is my favourite, I love the purity and freshness of her voice from this time. My mum gave me a compilation CD of Ella Fitzgerald recordings from the 40s when I was about 4 or 5 that was the first music I really remember falling in love with. I was completely obsessed, playing it on repeat on my CD player. Track 14, ‘Mama Come Home’, became my favourite song and I performed it at my year one talent show. The first song I ever wrote was around this time and was heavily influenced by this tune, if not verging on plagiarism. I really found my voice singing along to this record, scatting along to Ella’s adlibs and copying how she manipulated her voice with such control. I found the sweetness and lightness of young Ella’s tone so addictive. My mum is a singer and had a lot of CDs of great singers like Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday but Ella made the biggest impression on younger me. I have always loved singing and that was my main introduction to making music before I started playing piano."

5. Ornette Coleman - All My Life (3'39" - 3'49")

from Ornette Coleman - Science Fiction (1972)

"My friend Miranda Radford showed me this track last year and it totally blew me away. This climactic ending never fails to bring me to tears as Asha Puthli triumphantly proclaims “Now, I’m yours”. The last high note she hits with the dissonant horns blaring behind her, Charlie Haden’s bowed bass and Billy Higgins’ and Ed Blackwell’s rumbling double drums gives me chills. The incredible arrangement on this tune, created by Ornette Coleman giving the different transposing instruments concert parts of the melody, creates these haunting, emotionally charged echoes of Puthli’s vocals alongside Coleman’s guttural, voice- like tone. This tune contrasted with Puthli’s other feature on the album, “What Reason Could I Give” show the capacity for Ornette’s music to balance triumphant joy and celebration with melancholy and lament and the meeting of these two themes in his music is what makes it so special to me. I find that listening to this track brings me so much hope."

6. Bud Powell - Celia (1'09" - 1'19")

from Bud Powell - Jazz Giant (1950)

"Bud Powell is one of my favourite pianists, I love his ferocious lines, bouncy feel and singing melodies and this awesome break into his solo on Celia is a great example of this. I admire how Bud has this unapologetic, aggressive approach to playing that comes across as strong but also somehow remains delicate and beautiful through the narrative shape of his lines and intricacies of embellishment. For me his music has both humour and joy as well as a darkness and urgency that is executed with such impressive technique and musicality."

7. Milford Graves, Arthur Doyle, Hugh Glover - Children of the Forest (0'20" - 0'30")

from Milford Graves, Arthur Doyle, Hugh Glover - Children of the Forest (1976)

"I was also introduced to this album last year and its unrelenting intensity was unlike anything I had listened to before. The ten seconds I have chosen here are from Milford Graves announcing the date and time at the start of the recording in his direct, authoritative voice. He is waiting for ten seconds to pass before the clock strikes 6:50 and they start playing. I love this anticipatory silence before Graves’

ground shaking rhythms begin and it’s a great coincidence that it’s ten seconds long. I was so amazed by the sound that Graves is able to produce as one drummer, the stamina of these three musicians and how they maintain the intensity and the unending rhythmic creativity and vocabulary that Graves encompasses. I read in a great interview of Hugh Glover, the saxophonist on this album, that they were inspired by the music of Mbuti people of the Congo Basin and I was struck by how this shaped their approach. As opposed to the tension and release relationship that characterises a lot of western music and the music that I love, this approach was about maintaining a state of intensity for a long period until it becomes trance like and is much more reflective of the traditional West African music that I also really love."

8. John Coltrane - India (2'00" - 2'10")

from John Coltrane - Impressions (1961)

"Something about the tuning between Eric Dolphy’s bass clarinet and Coltrane’s soprano and the blend of their two instruments is so magical and peaceful on this recording of India. This followed by Coltrane’s soaring entrance into his solo is breathtaking. I love the Coltrane quartet for how they are able to create these intimate moments of tranquility and beauty as well as blaring, fiery intensity."

9. Vladimir Horowitz playing Alexander Scriabin’s Poeme in F-Sharp Major, Op.32, No.1: Andante cantabile (0'00" - 0'10")

"I first started learning to play piano with my grandmother who gave me classical lessons for many years from the age of 5 and in my teens I developed a personal love of classical piano music. I discovered the music of Scriabin and was amazed by the dark ambiguity of his harmonies and meandering melodies that overlap and unfold into unexpected developments. This album of Vladimir Horowitz playing the music of Scriabin, who as a child played to Scriabin and was encouraged by him, is a favourite of mine. In the opening ten seconds of Scriabin’s Poeme in F-Sharp major, Horowitz’ delicate, bell-like tone and dynamic control of all the voices as they come in and out of focus injects this recording with a sense of care and reverence as well as a sense of his deep understanding of the music."