Mara Rosenbloom, a jazz pianist, was injured in a car accident on the highway in Wisconsin. This happened one summer while she was still in college. Her left elbow was crushed when she was hit by an oncoming truck. Doctors said she would never be able to play the piano again. Despite the fact that she was unable to receive physical therapy for her injury, piano practice became a key part of her recovery. She said, “It really solidified my intention to become a music teacher.” It “kind of drove home the necessity for the work.” Ten-years later, this hard work is still paying off. Ms. Rosenbloom (32), recently released “Prairie Burn”, a trio recording that combines bristling provocation with full-bore groupimprovisation. This is her strongest statement as bandleader, and her most daring effort as a pianist. Its fraying rhythmic patterns, broken flow and turbulence give “Prairie Burn” a connection to the Midwestern landscapes of Ms. Rosenbloom’s youth. She is not only able to join the conversation with her heavyweight contemporaries, such as Kris Davis, Craig Taborn, and Matt Mitchell, but it also links her with a wide musical lineage that suggests a connection between the country’s landscapes and its lived experiences, including Ornette Coleman’s “Skies of America”, and Joni Mitchell’s panoramic recordings of mid-1970s. Although her following is small even when compared to improvised music standards Ms. Rosenbloom has begun to gain a foothold within the left wing New York’s jazz scene. She will be performing with Henry Grimes, the fabled avantgarde bassist, at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center. This is the final concert in “Justice Is Compassion/Not a Police State”, a three-week-long series of music and poetry presented through Arts for Art, which culminates with Donald J. Trump’s inauguration weekend. From www.nytimes.com
