A beautiful ballad with a cyclical form, visiting several key centers before modulating back to the tonic. The harmonies are full of suspensions and inner-voice lines which are shown in our trio piano part.
A beautiful ballad with a haunting melody. Though there are a lot of modulations to different key centers, the melody flows evenly through these. The form is 22 measures long, divided into 12-measure A and 10-measure B; the B section melody begins similarly to A but on F major. The end of the melody implies a resolution to D minor, but lands on Dm7♭5 with A♭ in the bass to modulate cyclically back to C minor for the beginning of the next chorus. The changes are full of suspensions and other stepwise lines in the inner voices; these are shown as countermelodies in our piano part. Bassists should also read this piano part as it includes piano left hand and bass figures in the coda. This coda contains a clever adaptation of the last melody phrase to resolve back to C minor instead of D minor as it does in the head.
Solos are on the same form as the head, with the changes a bit simplified. On the recording the head is played twice: first solo piano (rubato), then trio in time. The bass and drums enter in the last two measures of the solo piano chorus to set up the tempo.
As mentioned in the liner notes, Renee named As We Are Now after a novel by May Sarton. Renee's fifth album as a leader, "As We Are Now" was the second of five so far to feature saxophonist Chris Potter. Though he doesn't play on the title track, Potter appears on Black Holes and Bulldog's Chicken Run as well as Mizmahta and The Land Of Five Rivers (both coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com). Also from these sessions is Gargoyles, first issued on "With A Little Help From My Friends."
Few can deny that Renee Rosnes is one of the most important pianists and composers in contemporary jazz. As a child, Renee was initially attracted to classical piano, but became interested in jazz during high school. She went on to study classical piano performance at the University of Toronto but returned to Vancouver to pursue jazz. Renee quickly rose to the top of Vancouver's active jazz scene and performed as a sideman with Joe Farrell and Dave Liebman while still in her teens. Read more...
