VA - Encounters (2021)

Legendary composer, author, and educator Herbert Deutsch presents his newest album, ENCOUNTERS: JAZZ, SONGS & CHAMBER MUSIC, on Ravello Records. The music, performed by the American Chamber Ensemble, is unflaggingly groundbreaking; Deutsch, who in 1964 collaborated on the development of the Moog Synthesizer and composed music for its first live performance, deepens his legacy of innovation with this latest collection.

ENCOUNTERS is the result of Deutsch’s focus on composing for chamber ensembles over the past two decades. The program, which features a serious and somber jazz piece that breaks forth in moments of raucous exuberance, contemporary pieces featuring solo soprano and flute, and a fanciful and animated piece for piano and electric violin, includes works dedicated to Deutsch’s wife, pianist Nancy Deutsch, who performs on the album. Unencumbered by modal constraints, the instrumentalists explore and interact with absolute liberty.

Herbert Deutsch’s acquired mastery is on constant display in ENCOUNTERS to the delight of students and contemporary chamber music fans alike; it is an album worthy of both careful study and more casual enjoyment.