CHICAGO JAZZ MAGAZINE (HRAYR ATTARIAN) (FEB 2021)
Lara Driscoll and Chris White’s intimate debut, Firm Roots, draws inspiration from the rich tradition of jazz piano. A mix of standards and originals, this is a thematically unified set that delights with its spontaneity and lyricism. This husband-and-wife team got the opportunity to record it live on high-end instruments in Grand Piano Haus’s showroom. The venue’s acoustics are well reflected in the warmth and clarity of the album’s sound.
Pianist Horace Silver’s classic “Song for My Father” gets a soulful interpretation as Driscoll and White overlap their embellished phrases with creativity and elegance. The two artists build a sophisticated improvisation with their complementary and contrasting lines that cascade off each other, interweave, and intersect.
These types of captivating textures are a hallmark of this imaginative performance. The pair’s “One Foot First,” for example, is made up of crystalline refrains that change and morph into dynamic and exciting patterns. The inventive harmonies over subtly percussive vamps, and the duo’s virtuosity, are reminiscent of the pianists of the early half of the last century.
Similarly, another one of the couple’s compositions, “Jalophony,’’ showcases the pianists’ technical prowess and brilliant artistry. The thrilling agility with which White and Driscoll let loose fast and fluid sonic cascades, peppered with bluesy tones, harks back to Harlem stride with a thrilling modern twist.
The title track is one of pianist Cedar Walton’s many ingenious standards. Here, it features a playful and effervescent dialogue. With shimmering exchanges, the two musicians deconstruct the piece with deference and charm. Their unique approach is simultaneously passionate and suave, once again demonstrating the distinctive synergy of their individual styles. The result is as much Walton’s tune as it is Driscoll and White’s.
With Firm Roots, the Chicago-based pianists have created a truly enchanting work that, in a way, pays tribute to the legacy of past innovators of the genre. Both their own contributions and their singular reading of several well-known gems bear the indelible marks of their talent and the allure of a shared musical vision. Driscoll and White’s mastery and finesse lend an appealing and accessible quality to their superb debut album.
WDCB (PAUL ABELLA) (JAN 2021)
"Chris White and Lara Driscoll are both celebrated pianists in Chicago and fantastic composers, as well as being husband and wife. With Firm Roots, their instrumental duo, they put their talents together to produce Firm Roots, the album, where they shine a spotlight on their playing, composing and arranging skills. The musicianship and writing is great; I especially like "One Foot First", "Tu M’as Convaincu" and the lovely reading of "Willow Weep for Me". The originals really stand out, and I hope we hear more from the Firm Roots duo as this is quite an enjoyable album."
NEON JAZZ RADIO INTERVIEW (JAN 2021)
TEXTURA (RON SCHEPPER) (JAN 2021)
At the risk of extrapolating too much, the duo performances by pianists Chris White and Lara Driscoll on Firm Roots suggest the married couple's Chicago home must be an exceptionally harmonious one. On this debut set, the two complement one another magnificently, each completing and extending the other's phrases while at the same allowing room for individual expression. A major part of the listening pleasure afforded by the release stems from luxuriating in the cozy exchange of ideas between them.
After meeting as students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and forging individual careers, they've now chosen to play together as Firm Roots Duo, the name inspired by the Cedar Walton composition with which the album begins and which even served as the couple's recessional at their wedding ceremony. It wasn't simply that they liked the tune: roots, while invisible, provide the foundation for the growing tree and as such are a powerful metaphor for not only a strong marriage but a healthy working relationship.
In addition to the satisfying dialogue aspect of the performances, the album's distinguished in other ways. The set-list is strong, with White and Driscoll balancing four originals with well-chosen covers, and the sound produced by the two Bösendorfers (recorded live at the Grand Piano Haus showroom in Skokie, Illinois) is itself a treat for the ears. And with the sound mix positioning Driscoll on the right and White the left for most of the record, the listener's able to easily monitor how fluidly the two execute. As one solos, the other provides a stabilizing ground until a deft switch-off occurs and the roles reverse.
The groundwork's beautifully laid by Walton's opener, his melodious and buoyant piece exuding charm at every moment. The pianists' sensibilities not only align with each other but with Walton as the two take to the tune's infectious swing with obvious joy. White and Driscoll uphold the jazz artist's propensity for transmuting popular songs into material of pronounced emotional bearing, in this case “That's What Friends Are For,” written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager in 1986. An album highlight, the setting opens stirringly in rubato mode, the treatment all the better at accentuating the song's yearning melodies. Their rendering is so affecting, you just might forget the familiar vocal version that was a hit decades ago. As winning are their enticing treatments of Horace Silver's “Song For My Father” and Ann Ronell's “Willow Weep For Me,” both given sultry, soulful readings (a smattering of stride even working its way into the latter).
The duo's originals are anything but secondary. The breezy swing of their Brazilian-inspired “Sábado de Manhã” is irresistible, and much the same could be said of the blues-inflected workouts “One Foot First” and “Jalophony.” They're at their lyrical best for “I.P.T.,” a graceful ballad that not only alludes to “Monk's Mood” but also evokes the legend's style in its intro (“I.P.T.” also, interestingly, was the duo's first original and performed by them at their wedding reception).
Before listening to the recording, I'll confess my thoughts drifted to The Fabulous Baker Boys, the 1989 film starring the Bridges brothers as struggling piano partners whose popularity soars when they bring singer Susie Diamond aboard. But in contrast to that film's storyline, Firm Roots shows White and Driscoll are in no need of a third member. The playing on this superb and oft-eloquent debut is at such a consistently high level, listening attention never strays.
JAZZ QUAD (LEONID AUSKERN) (JAN 2021)
SHEPARD EXPRESS (MORTON SHIABOTNIK) (DEC 2020)