Tops of Trees was the first album as leader by harpist
Carol Emanuel, a mainstay of the downtown New York avant-garde music scene since her early-'80s participation in several of
John Zorn's first projects. The ten pieces presented here are each by different composers (all of whom were involved in that same scene); three are solo harp performances, the rest utilize revolving groups ranging from duos to quintets. Among the more successful are
Evan Lurie's moody, Spanish-tinged "Travel," master accordionist
Guy Klucevsek's lovely "Singing Sands," and
Zorn's knotty, harp-abusing "Tasmanian Devil" which allows
Emanuel to pull out all stops and perhaps a few strings. Both of the more rock-oriented pieces,
Amy Rubin's "Blue Ridge" and
Bobby Previte's "How Long Is the Coast of Brittany?" fall flat, the former succumbing to an ECM-ish Muzak-y languor, the latter getting lost in a flurry of bombast. Improvising harpists are a relatively rare breed, however (
Zeena Parkins and
Rhodri Davies being two other examples), and it's certainly interesting and encouraging to hear players like
Emanuel venture into the territory. Though
Tops of Trees is a hit and miss affair, it's worth hearing for that reason alone. ~ Brian Olewnick