Record Reviews

ONUR AYMERGEN QUINTET ~ LUNAR LOSEN 265 (Barcode: 7090025832659) ~ TURKEY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2023 This is an album by Turkish Jazz guitarist / composer Onur AymergenFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with pianist Can CankayaFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Tolga BilginFind albums by this artist, bassist Apostolos SiderisFind albums by this artist and drummer Turgut Alp BekogluFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. The music is wonderful modern European Jazz, which splendidly documents the incredibly high level of Turkish Jazz, which for some strange reason is one of the country’s best kept secrets, as it is relatively rarely heard outside of the country’s borders. The music is all based on melodic themes, all solid and elegantly weaved, but offers a lot of open space for improvisation and on one track even touches upon Free. Personally I’d prefer the music to reflect more Turkish folkloristic elements than it does, but that is of course the choice of the musicians and especially the leader. Aymergen is a very skilled guitar player, who eschews Fusiony doodling and plays wonderful phrases while improvising, excellently supported by the quintet members, all of which are also excellent musicians, easily comparable to their European colleagues. Cankaya plays some superb piano lines throughout, Bilgin keep relatively to the background, Sideris adds elegant and constructive bass pulsations and Bekoglu ornaments the music with very imaginative percussive work. Overall, this is quite a revelation to Jazz lovers not familiar with Turkish Jazz scene and a heaven on earth for guitar lovers, who can discover some highly unusual approach to the instrument, influenced by the Middle Eastern tradition of plucked string instruments like the saz and oud. Kudos to my Norwegian friend Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist, who manages to carry on with his wonderful LosenFind albums on this label Records label, continuously releasing a lot of exciting Jazz music from all over the world.

Updated: 05/04/2023Posted: 05/04/2023

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

SANDRA BOROY ~ SUS LOSEN 164 (Barcode: 7090025831645) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Norwegian vocalist / songwriter Sandra BoroyFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist Jonas Dyrstad ValbergFind albums by this artist, bassist Guttorm Strande SyrristFind albums by this artist and drummer Jonatan Schanke EikumFind albums by this artist. The album presents six songs with lyrics in Norwegian and two wordless pieces, each repeated twice, altogether ten tracks, all composed and written by Boroy. After developing the material and perfecting her style for almost four years Boroy finally recorded this album, boldly stepping into the tough world of vocal music, perhaps the most difficult of all musical forms. It becomes immediately obvious after the music starts playing that she is not another young female in the endless stream of hopeless copycats trying to "make it" using a sexy voice or even worse her sexy look. This album is a profound statement of individuality and complete disregard of fads and fashions, simply putting on the table an honest package of compositions, lyrics and heartfelt execution. Sticking to lyrics in Norwegian is another important sign of honesty and candor, avoiding the usual trap of "broken English" that most starting vocalist fell into over and over again all over the world. The music fails an immediate attempt of classification; it is Jazzy, but not mainstream oriented, it displays the Scandinavian melancholy and lyrical approach, and yet differs from most other Scandinavian music, presenting a unique stylistic statement. Boroy´s usage of vocalese, both on the wordless tracks and during her solos within the songs, is where she sounds most interesting and promising, but her vocal delivery is definitely overall excellent. One of the basic assets of this album is the close cooperation between the vocals and the guitar, which accompanies her very closely, sometimes even unisono, creating an unusual atmosphere and an outlandish sound effect. The rhythm section also does a splendid job, staying often in the background and stepping in elegantly exactly when appropriate. The bass supports the melody line admirably, which is especially important when the vocals and guitar are busy with stating the complex melody lines. The drums are elegantly supporting the music, being often subdued, but on the wonderful vocals / drums duet track the drummer shows not only his skills as a player but more importantly his ability to listen. Overall this is an amazing debut album, especially so in the vocal department. With such talent and determination God only knows what these young musicians can achieve eventually. It´s one of those albums that make being a music critic a pleasure. Kudos to Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist for his vision to release this album on his superb LosenFind albums on this label Records label; most other labels would have rejected it for being "too ambitious" – what a world we are leaving in!

Updated: 21/09/2016Posted: 21/09/2016

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

LIV HANNE HAUGEN ~ KEMEDU LOSEN 141 (Barcode: 7090025831416) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by Norwegian vocalist Liv Hanne HaugenFind albums by this artist, recorded with Norwegian trombonist Oystein BlixFind albums by this artist and two French musicians: keyboardist Thierry GiraultFind albums by this artist and guitarist Alain KawczakFind albums by this artist. Kristian Svalestad OlstadFind albums by this artist, who served as the recording engineer, guests on two tracks playing percussion. The album comprises of eleven tracks, nine of which are originals composed by the participating musicians with lyrics by Haugen. The other two tracks are traditional Sami yoik songs. Haugen, heavily influenced by the culture of the Arctic Sami people and their yoik vocal tradition, emerges as a highly original vocalist, freely merging distant musical idioms, which encompass Jazz, Alternative Rock and World Music. The resulting music played by the group is bold, innovative and very unique, which is pretty unusual these days, where individuality and experimentation become obsolete. The music is quite diverse, moving between melodic, ambient and improvised parts. The unusual instrumentation, with the trombone as a lead instrument, adds to the mystique and the wonderful weirdness which prevails over this music. But Haugen´s vocals are the most dominant factor which makes this music so wonderfully bizarre. She completely disregards any conventions whatsoever, using her voice to sing, howl, screech, scream, yell and whisper, whatever seems appropriate at a particular moment. Her wordless vocalese is hauntingly beautiful and extremely powerful. When all these factors are combined and intertwined into a tapestry of sounds, the result is simply overwhelming. This music grows on the listener very persistently and I personally had a hard tie taking the CD out of my player after listening to it repeatedly several times in a row. What a magical experience! Happy International Women´s Day to you Liv! This is definitely the boldest and most surprising album I have heard so far from the LosenFind albums on this label Records catalogue, and I have to salute the label´s owner Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist for his courage and vision that made him release this highly unusual, farsighted and non commercial music, against all odds. We need more culture loving people like you Odd!

Updated: 08/03/2016Posted: 08/03/2016

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

OLGA KONKOVA / JENS THORESEN ~ OLD SONGS LOSEN 181 (Barcode: 7090025831812) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the second album by the fabulous Norwegian duo comprising of pianist Olga KonkovaFind albums by this artist and guitarist Jens ThoresenFind albums by this artist. Their debut album "December SongsFind albums with this title" presented their unique interpretations of Christmas songs and this time, as the title suggests, they present ten standards, re-arranged and adapted to the duo environment. It takes a lot of courage to play standards these days; after all one might think that everything conceivable was already done in that particular area of the Jazz idiom. Therefore, in most cases, when standards are performed by today´s musicians, especially those originating in the US, the highest symbol of awareness one might expect from the listener is a colossal yawn. However, listening to this music the attentive listener is swiped away into another dimension, where the music is a collection of intelligent and elegant hints, which probe the brain to find the familiar melodies and connect the dots. As all great duo albums, this music is all about the individualism and the dualism co-existing in perfect harmony and balance. Years of experience and mutual respect are helpful of course, but in the case of these two musicians it seems more like a symbiotic relationship and telepathic communication. Minimalistic, elegant and yet wonderfully expressive, this music is a balsam to our hearts, broken by the harsh realities of the world we live in. Perhaps this is a form of Western Nirvana? I recommend to all true Jazz connoisseurs to get a copy of this album and give it a close listen – you´ll never regret it and probably also never forget it. Thank you Olga and Jens for this superb gift of European haute culture and obvious Love of the Art of music! And thank you Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist for keeping the wonderful LosenFind albums on this label Records alive! Without you people life would be much more difficult…

Updated: 01/10/2017Posted: 01/10/2017

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

FLORA PURIM ~ SINGS MILTON NASCIMENTO EFA 718750636126 (Barcode: 718750636126) ~ BRAZIL ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2000 Released: 2002 This is a wonderful album by Brazilian vocalist Flora PurimFind albums by this artist, dedicated to her friend the legendary Brazilian singer / songwriter Milton NascimentoFind albums by this artist, one of the most important representatives both of the original Brazilian music and the Jazz-World Fusion idiom. As Purim puts it in the album´s liner notes, which tell the story of their musical encounters over the years: "This record is not a tribute to Milton, but a declaration of unconditional love". The album collects ten songs, eight of which are composed by Nascimento and two are associated with him. Purim is accompanied by a superb cast of musicians, many of which originate from Brazil, which includes keyboardist Luiz AvellarFind albums by this artist, saxophonist / flautist Widor SantiagoFind albums by this artist, guitarist Jose NetoFind albums by this artist, bassist Gary BrownFind albums by this artist, drummer (and husband) Airto MoreiraFind albums by this artist and many others. The great (and much lamented) keyboardist George DukeFind albums by this artist guests on one track and a brass section is featured on another track. Purim sings in Portuguese (except for one song), which is greatly refreshing, as most of her albums feature her English lyrics, and her voice is absolutely unblemished by age; on the contrary she sounds invigorated and rejuvenated. The vocal and instrumental arrangements are absolutely delightful and the album is one great joy ride from start to finish. After being yanked out of the Brazilian music into the Jazz and Fusion worlds following her and her husband´s arrival in the US, Purim seems to be enjoying coming back to her roots on this album, which is felt immediately. Of course the music is also about Nascimento, who is unquestionably one of the greatest songwriters in all times. His ability to amalgamate Brazilian moods and folkloristic themes with Jazz, Rock and contemporary music in general is unparalleled. He remains a pillar of fire among his contemporaries, which many have followed suit. Purim delivers some of her most dramatic, heartfelt vocals on this album ever, including vocalese and other vocal tricks, which are beautifully captured by the recording and production of this album, turning it instantly into one of my favorite Purim albums. The overall quality and collected talents concentrated on this album are simply staggering. Side Note: Many thanks to my friend Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist who has allowed me to rummage his enormous CD warehouse for hidden treasures, of which this was just one of many. The thought that this album never landed in my lap earlier makes me very sad, as it makes me realize that there must be thousands of similar albums I have missed…

Updated: 09/08/2016Posted: 09/08/2016

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

SVELIA ~ TRANSITIONS LOSEN 136 (Barcode: 7090025831362) ~ SWEDEN ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by a young Swedish / Australian ensemble SveliaFind albums by this artist, which comprises of vocalist Casey MoirFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Reuben LewisFind albums by this artist, pianist Luke SweetingFind albums by this artist, bassist Johan MoirFind albums by this artist and drummer Aidan LoweFind albums by this artist. They perform eight original compositions / songs, most of which were composed by Casey Moir, who also wrote most of the lyrics, with the exception of two songs composed by Lewis, one by Johan Moir and one by Sweeting. The music is a surprisingly unusual blend of melodic themes performed in a very free / improvised setting, with a lot of space and breathing space, directed by Casey Moir´s incredible vocal parts and dominated by the complex music she composed. She is one of the very few female vocalist, who tries to continue and keep alive the wonderful vocal Jazz tradition, which was developed decades ago by such wonderful female vocalists as Jeanne LeeFind albums by this artist, Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist, Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist and a few others, and which has sadly almost no parallels in contemporary Jazz, even on the European scene. Casey Moir uses lyrics and vocalese, theatrical expression and on-the-fly vocal improvisations, which make the hair on the back of the listener´s neck to stand up, not only because she is so bizarre and fabulous, but mostly because she dares. The entire concept of this album and the overall impression it makes is truly amazing. But of course the vocalist is not alone out there and her companions all contribute magnificently to the overall success. Lewis plays some "nasty" trumpet parts, which would make Don Cherry smile, Sweeting delicately adds his free-Baroque ornamentations and the rhythm section, which plays anything but rhythm, completes the sound design by another dimension of freedom. Personally the more improvised the music gets, the better it gets and I don´t even dare to think what these musicians might come up with next; hopefully something even more daring and wonderfully weird than this gem of an album. Overall a stunning debut effort, which deserves praise not only for what it offers, but the sheer audacity and chutzpah, mixed with pure genius, which are so rare these days. Another great release on LosenFind albums on this label Records, which again makes me wonder where do you, Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist, find all these fantastic musicians?

Updated: 22/11/2016Posted: 22/11/2016

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend