Welcome back to a new season of MailTape. In our first episode since July we welcome one of my favourite pianist-composers, Kaja Draksler, who replenishes us with a dreamy Sunday morning selection of chorales and solo piano.

Kaja has a large sonic vision of her instrument. She creates balladic quasi-stride with harmonically rich modern overtones. She drums on the piano in ways drummers would feel at home listening to. And she has a feel for intervallic relations, harmonic and melodic patterning that put her in a special category of improvisers.

Kaja Draksler’s selection

The Tahitian Choir – Tahiti Choir Music

Kaja Draksler: ” Folk music always has a very strong impact on me, especially when there are voices involved. This is a choir from Tahiti. “

Craig Taborn – This Voice Says So

Kaja Draksler: ” One of my favorite pianists. His solo album Avenging Angel is just magic. I hope he releases another solo soon. “

Jacobus Gallus – Mirabile Misterium

Kaja Draksler: ” A Slovenian renessaince composer sang by Huelgas Ensemble. You can never hear enough of this! “

MailTape’s selection

Kaja Draksler Octet – Gledalec

Sanjay: ” One of my favourite pianists since listening to her collaboration with Susana Santos Silva. Kaja’s most recent octet blends chorale settings of poetry, composed chamber-like passages and extended improvisation. The lyrics are drawn from the poems of Pablo Neruda, Andriana Minou and Gregor Strnisa with herself on piano, Björk Níelsdóttir and Laura Polence on vocals; Ada Rave and Ab Baars on clarinet and tenor sax; George Dumitriu on violin and viola; Lennart Heyndels on bass; and Onno Govaert on drums and percussion. “

Cara Stacey & Camilo Ángeles – Cederberg

Sanjay: ” No stranger to MailTape, Cara Stacey has recently released ‘Ceder’ with Camilo Ángeles. Recorded in a day of improvisations, Camilo’s floaty and impressionistic flute complements Cara’s piano and other instruments. “

Angelica Sanchez Trio – What the Birds Tell Me

Sanjay: ” Angelica Sanchez’s piano lays out a curious theme in this track. It’s a relaxed, spacious and abstract piece in which the rest of the trio—Tyshawn Sorey and Michael Formanek—play with silence, crafting a kind of meditation. Perfect for a Sunday morning. “

Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir – Jesu Nganalala

Sanjay: ” I usually take my Sunday morning coffee sat opposite a Pentecostal church in London. The sound of this choir reminds me of those sunny summer mornings complemented by the joyful sound of the gospel choirs inside. See their live performance of this choral show on Vimeo. “

That’s it for this morning. As always, thanks for listening and much love and gratitude to Kaja Draksler, and to Anaïs Marthe Caura for this episode’s cool illustration!