Andy Milne: Time Will Tell

SUNNYSIDE RECORDS (RECORDED JULY 2022)

In 2017 pianist Andy Milne formed the Unison Trio with John Hebert on bass and Clarence Penn on drums, releasing their first CD, reMISSON, in 2020. In 2022, Milne was in the studio to record Fragile, a duo session with tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock.
Time Will Tell brings together the trio and Laubrock as well as koto player Yoko Reikano Kimura. The results are a session that chronicles Milne’s journey to find his birth mother. Although the plaintive nature of the music could be discarded by some as background music, it deserves a closer and serious listen. The ten tracks (all but two written by Milne), meld together in suite-like fashion, running the gamut from the rhapsodic opening tune “Purity of Heart” to the playful and carefree feel of “Papounet” (written by Penn) to the hopeful mood of “Beyond the Porcelain Door.” Laubrock’s searching tenor style and Kimura’s sensitive and tasteful koto playing add emotion and flavor to four of the selections, leaving the other six for the trio to unfold and explore. Hebert shines on his composition “Broken Landscape” and adds to the musical conversation with Penn and Milne on “No Matter What.” One can sense that writing the music and recording
Time Will Tell was an emotional experience for Milne. The music speaks of hope, reflection and resilience, and it speaks in a language any fan of contemporary jazz will understand.

BOTTOM LINE: Pianist Andy Milne has a story to tell, and he tells it superbly on Time Will Tell. It’s a story about the search for and meeting his birth mother. The plaintive nature of the music reflects this personal journey through ten pieces that run the gamut of emotions from meditative to carefree, hopeful to upbeat.