This current project of the classically trained duo of pianist and poet Robert Mitchell and cellist Shirley Smart came about after conversations back in 2014.
Their desire to merge the structure of classical with the freedom of improv led to this collaboration, in which Robert also wished to address his family’s history and their relationship to the Windrush scandal in a way that is accessible yet emotive.
The piano and cello merge really contentedly on the opener “Opals”, but it doesn’t cover the melancholy that pushes at the edges, and there is a sense of it being unsettled in the judicious choice of chords and some of the sidestepping note selection. It is a little wary, even during the jaunty middle selection, and feels tossed around, as if evoking the passage of a ship into the unknown. The beautifully enunciated but dry tones of Robert are introduced on “The First Note”, and here the story starts.Against a backdrop of slow cello strokes, he carefully delivers each word, a wish for a world of harmony, ensuring the message is fully understood as Shirley writhes around the text, highlighting their desire. Their playing together is as much about savouring what has come to pass; a resolute and purposeful version of “Klavierstuck In A” links with their take on Howard Skempton‘s “For Catherine” while also exploring the diverse links that draw them together.
Shirley spent time in the Middle East and her fusion of what we recognise as jazz with those influences comes to pass in the often unexpected directions the pieces take. “Anxieties” is very well named as it feels highly strung, the cello picking constantly at the walking bass piano, unsettled and awkward. The cello hops and skips here, while on the title track it is much more contemplative and emotionally searching, its spare sound aching with a sense of loss. For me though, the stand-out moment is “A Son Of Windrush Reflects”, another spoken-word piece in which Robert essentially recounts his mother’s history and the difficulties she encountered whilst working for the NHS over here. Her constant sense of positivity, along with elements of frustration and the feeling of love that Robert’s words exude, are just delightful.That frustration and also the later Windrush scandal itself is beautifully expressed by the cello, while the voice continues in its measured, unruffled way, evoking his mother’s unquenchable desire to help and be of good humour. It is one of the most touching tributes and leads into the frivolous album closer “Mind’s Eye”, but even here the feelgood sense is tempered with warnings, as if to say we can never allow such a thing to pass again.
This is a pairing of two skilled players, with Robert’s poetry adding a third and very worthwhile element. Everybody should hear Zeitgeist² and allow the reality of what some people have had to endure to really be understood.-Mr Olivetti-
