Recording of the Week, Connie Han, 'Secrets of Inanna'

(Photo by Robert Lynden)

Sometimes people seem destined for a path into music; for American pianist Connie Han, it was growing up as the child of two professional musicians that sealed her fate, beginning piano lessons with her classically trained mother from the age of five. Developing an interest in jazz during her time in high school, she found a mentor in drummer Bill Wysaske, who proved to be the catalyst for Han’s professional career when he became her trio’s musical director when she was just aged 17 – even forgoing a formal jazz education. Wysaske continues to play in Han’s band to this day, even contributing a handful of the original tunes on her latest album and today’s Recording of the Week, Secrets of Inanna. Today Han boasts the title of Steinway Artist - now on her fourth record (third with Mack Avenue Music) after 2020’s Iron Starlet and her initial breakthrough debut Crime Zone, she’s been on a steady rise in jazz circles just shy of 10 years into her career.

Joining her as always on her latest album is the aforementioned Wysaske, with the rest of Han’s quintet filled out with new collaborators Katisse Buckingham on alto flute and piccolo, John Patitucci on bass, and saxophonist Rich Perry. Patitucci in particular is quite a pick for this record: having been an active performing musician for over four decades now with a wealth of recordings under his own name and in others’ bands, he’s one of the most recognisable bassists on the New York circuit. Buckingham is perhaps a little more under the radar, but his collaborations have stretched far in and outside the world of jazz, including Prince, Lionel Richie, Dr. Dre, Herbie Hancock (and even the infamous ‘Jazz Flute’ scene in the 2004 film Anchorman), while Perry has three decades of solo records to his name – exclusively under Danish label SteepleChase – as well as a wealth of credits in the bands of Joe Henderson, Fred Hirsch and Paul Bley.

Han always puts a little bit of her own interests into her records, be it the cyberpunk dystopias of Blade Runner and Akira on Crime Zone, her more direct inspirations of piano jazz titans on Iron Starlet, or now her curiosities in ancient civilisations. The title itself refers to Inanna, the goddess of love, beauty and war in ancient Sumerian culture – and Secrets fits all these concepts into its original tunes that range from slow-paced ballads to fast, frenetic bops. Secrets of Inanna isn’t a massive departure from the sounds Han was working with on Iron Starlet, but she does introduce some more spiritually-leaning tones compared to her previous works; the first tune ‘Prima Materia’ (written by Wysaske) has Han laying down some playful piano lines with a complementary fluttering flute melody from Buckingham fleshing out the arrangement, a colourful opening to the proceedings.

Han’s own compositions are pretty varied in themselves; an early tune ‘Ereshkigal of the Underworld’ establishes Han’s evocative palette for the record, while ‘Gilgamesh and the Celestial Bull’ draws on some more off-kilter fusion sounds with angular melodies and a faster tempo, and ‘The Gallû Pursuit’ in the latter half of the record has a similar approach with its seemingly never-ending breakneck piano runs. Elsewhere Han’s serene rubato duet ‘Vesica Piscis’ with saxophonist Rich Perry is a real highlight of the record, revealing Han’s keen ear for vivid chord-work in a more focussed setting. Wysaske also offers his own sensitive side on ‘Wind Rose Goddess’, a bittersweet chord progression capped off with a swinging tempo and Perry’s delicate touch on the sax, while Han entertains some more nocturnal tones on ‘Young Moon’ with an ice-cool chord progression on her trusty Fender Rhodes, the latter half of the tune sees Patitucci stepping up for a slick solo performance backed by Han and Wysaske.

Only two tunes that appear here are not Han or Wysaske originals, those being Rodgers Grant’s ‘Morning Star’ (originally featured on the 1972 album of the same name by jazz flautist Hubert Laws), and Chick Corea’s ‘Desert Air’ from the pianist’s 1973 album Crystal Silence with Gary Burton; it wouldn’t be a Connie Han record without a nod to past greats, and on Secrets of Inanna her interpretations are more transformative than ever. Jumping in at the deep end as it were when she decided to go professional with her original trio at such a young age, what could have been seen as a gamble on Connie Han’s part has more than paid off; her now four excellent studio albums would be the envy of any young jazzer, with Secrets of Inanna a more than worthy addition to the list.

Secrets of Inanna is available today on CD and digital download, and on vinyl LP later this month