Barbie's Other Shoe, 1997



I've been a fan of Marilyn Lerner for many years now. She has played latin jazz, mainstream jazz, World jazz, modern jazz, avant garde jazz and, well, just about every other hyphen jazz there is. She is a pianist of staggering technical ability as well as a musician possessing "big ears" - she can respond beautifully to whatever her collaborators present her. I've come to appreciate Lori Freedman a lot, too. They have not recorded nearly enough, for my money!
Joslyn Layne wrote:
Formed in the mid-'90s, Canadian piano and clarinet duo Queen Mab has won rave reviews for their blending of composed and improvised music, and jazz and classical music. Queen Mab consists of Toronto pianist Marilyn Lerner -- who has led a couple albums of her own and has collaborated with well-known jazz musicians including Steve Lacy, Jane Bunnett, Paul Plimley, Paquito D'Rivera, and Lori Freedman, an award-winning clarinetist from Winnipeg who has made guest appearances with a number of Canadian orchestras, been involved in electro-acoustic music, and performed on over 15 recordings, including her own solo release, Huskless. Queen Mab's first recording, Barbie's Other Shoe came out in 1997 on multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia's 9 Winds label. It was followed a few years later by Close, released on another independent West Coast avant-garde music label, Spool. Queen Mab has toured and performed at major festivals across Canada, from Newfoundland's Sound Symposium to the Vancouver Jazz Festival.

If freer improvisation is your cup of tea, this might quench your thirst.

Enjoy!