Parkins, Zeena – “Necklace ” – [Tzadik]

A tasty seven course meal of avante garde delights. Zeena’s fans may be disappointed that she plays on only one of the seven tracks, but she is heavily involved in all of them, composing and processing. “16 Feet + Cello” is the major experimental piece, followed by Zeena’s harp piece, all sandwiched between two pieces (the second with three movements) composed by Zeena and performed by the Eclipse Quartet, which includes two of Zeena’s sisters. These pieces, while still avant garde by classical standards, fall into more recognizable musical terrain and offer both warm familiarity and a challenge to explore the music and oneself. A lovely session of string therapy for the aching soul.