Record Reviews

FOR ALL THE SAINTS / THE SOLID STRINGS ~ BUBBLING UNDER VILLAGE LIFE 98116 (Barcode: 5037013981168) ~ UK ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 1998 Released: 1998 This is an album by British Jazz trio called For All The SaintsFind albums by this artist, which comprises of pianist Tony HymasFind albums by this artist, saxophonist / flautist Stan SulzmannFind albums by this artist and drummer Paul ClarvisFind albums by this artist, recorded with the Solid StringsFind albums by this artist string quartet led by violinist Sonia SlanyFind albums by this artist. The album presents five tracks, one each composed by Sultzmann and Hymas, two by Slany and the last piece being partly traditional and partly composed by Sultzmann. The music is a wonderful amalgam of Jazz and Classical Music elements, but also many other less obvious influences, like World Music and Folklore. The septet sounds like a fully organic musical unit and the Jazz and Classical elements complement each perfectly, creating a brilliant chamber atmosphere of delicate beauty and depth. The pieces are all perfectly structured, most lasting close to or over the ten minutes’ mark, and the string arrangements, despite the fact of being quite complex, are highly melodic and rhythmically suitable for the Jazz improvisations by the trio, creating together a highly aesthetic musical treat. The album was released on the Village Life label, owned by Clarvis, and is sadly pretty obscure among the British Jazz enthusiasts, like most of the excellent releases on that label, all of which deserve a much wider recognition. My friendly advice is to grab anything still available on that label, before they are all sold out. Overall, this is a brilliant Jazz-Classical Fusion offering of the highest class, which offers wonderful compositions, arrangements and performances, which make this music ageless and completely resistant to passing time. Everything recorded by Sultzmann deserves of course special attention to the British Jazz community, as he is still grossly underrated, despite his contribution lasting decades. This is a true gem!

Updated: 30/06/2023Posted: 30/06/2023

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

STEPHAN KURMANN / STRINGS ~ PLAY HERMETO PASCOAL NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 725095020084) ~ SWITZERLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2006 - 2007 Released: 2008 5th album by the excellent Swiss ensemble StringsFind albums by this artist, led by bassist Stephan KurmannFind albums by this artist, which is a nonet with a Jazz quintet (saxophone, trombone, bass, drums and percussion) and a string quartet. The ensemble has a history of recording works of the highest quality, usually thematic, and this album is no exception. The entire album is dedicated to the music of the great Brazilian Master Hermeto PascoalFind albums by this artist, whose music is featured here exclusively. The arrangements were made by a long time Pascoal´s associate musician, Jovino Santos NetoFind albums by this artist, and Pascoal himself adds a guest appearance on one track. Pascoal´s music has been always one of my big favorites, but this new approach to the music adds a completely new angle and makes it even more fascinating. This is perfect marriage between the European, African and South / North American musical traditions, mixing Classical, Jazz and Samba / Bossa at their most glorious and eloquent epiphanies. I can hardly describe the thrill this music send down my spine, I guess experiencing it is the only way to go about it. If you love challenging, intelligent, far-reaching and unusual music, do yourself a favor and grab this beauty – satisfaction guaranteed!

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

RITE OF STRINGS ~ LIVE AT MONTREUX 1994 MERCURY 602448000743 (Barcode: 602448000743) ~ USA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 1994 Released: 2022 This is a live album by the great acoustic trio Rite Of StringsFind albums by this artist, comprising of French violinist Jean-Luc PontyFind albums by this artist and American guitarist Al Di MeolaFind albums by this artist and bassist Stanley ClarkeFind albums by this artist. The 2CD album presents ten tracks, all composed by the trio members, with one composition repeated twice and featuring Jamaican pianist Monty AlexanderFind albums by this artist on one of the versions. Three of the tracks are solo performances, one by each member of the trio. This album was recorded a year before the trio recorded their eponymous, and so far only studio album. This live recording offers a stunning sound quality. The music is everything one might expect from these three instrumental virtuosi, who manage to avoid turning this into a competition and rather display a wonderful teamwork using their respective strengths the best possible way. The music spans a wide range of stylistic explorations, but is mostly dominated by the Jazz-World Fusion influences, which Al Di Meola pursued predominantly at the time and his partners followed contentedly. Overall, this is a breathtaking display of the instrumental abilities of three giant musicians, who complement each other wonderfully herein. The perform beautiful music and the album is not surprisingly full of pyrotechnical neck-breaking displays of instrumental virtuosity. Personally I prefer this live album to the studio album, which followed, as the live electric atmosphere present on this recording is simply electrifying, acoustically ;)

Updated: 30/08/2024Posted: 30/08/2024

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ARIEL SHIBOLET / BETWEEN THE STRINGS TRIO ~ LIVE AT THE TEL AVIV MUSEUM KADIMA COLLECTIVE 13 (Barcode: 634479391576) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2006 Released: 2007 2nd album by Israeli saxophonist Ariel ShiboletFind albums by this artist, this time in cooperation with the Between The Strings TrioFind albums by this artist (Jean Claude JonesFind albums by this artist – bass, Daniel HoffmanFind albums by this artist – violin and Nori JacobyFind albums by this artist – viola), recorded live at the Tel Aviv Museum. The concert includes three parts, starting with a solo soprano saxophone performance by Ariel, continued by a piece by the string trio and concluded by a quartet performance by Ariel with the trio. Over 61 minutes of purely improvised music, challenging and difficult as always, but deeply rewarding to the disciples of the genre. Ariel’s playing is deeply rooted in the tradition of the late period John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, Steve LacyFind albums by this artist and Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist, based on complete control of the instrument, virtuosity and of course relentless passion. The balance between Ariel and the string trio, as well as their cooperative group improvisation is truly inspiring. Contrary to popular opinion improvised music is definitely still alive and kicking, and the fact that it still thrives here in Israel (although abandoned in other places) makes me especially proud, proving the multi-cultural openness of our society.

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

WAKO & OSLO STRINGS ~ MODES FOR ALL ETERNITY AMP 014 (Barcode: 662578831068) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is an album by Norwegian Jazz quartet WakoFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Martin Myhre OlsenFind albums by this artist, pianist Kjetil Andre MulelidFind albums by this artist, bassist Bardur Reinert PoulsenFind albums by this artist and drummer Simon Olderskog AlbertsenFind albums by this artist, expanded to a septet with the addition of a string trio. The album presents six original compositions, all by Olsen, one of which is a five-part suite. The music is a brilliant amalgam of Improvised Music and European Modern Classical tradition, which combines composed pieces and improvised spur of the moment creations in a unique and highly original way. In many respects this music continues Olsen´s debut recording "Lonely CreaturesFind albums with this title", which revealed his enormous potential as composer. His use of the strings, which become an integral part of the ensemble, is especially interesting and points out to some novel arranging techniques, which are rarely seen elsewhere. Although conceptually the music might be seen as based on the work of the Early 20th Century Modernists, it certainly has it own values and qualities and constitutes an up to date version of these Classical Music elements. In spite of the fact that the music is very complex and multi-layered, it is at the same time quite accessible. Of course repeated listening sessions are required to penetrate the full depth of the musical intricacy, but the music is welcoming from the very first approach, which is pretty amazing. The album attests to the incredible renaissance of European Jazz and associated music, which presents new aesthetic heights and intellectual values, which have been dormant for a while. Norway has become a most fertile ground for New Music, and this album is just one of many great pieces of music originating there. Olson is definitely a musician worth following and surely he is going to surprise us with many new projects in the future. In the meantime this is a highly challenging and highly praiseworthy album, which hopefully will be heard by as many people as possible. Connoisseurs of non-trivial, rich and aesthetically fulfilling music will find plenty of it herein, and will discover more of it with every listen. Highly recommended!

Updated: 24/07/2017Posted: 24/07/2017

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

SEBASTIAN ZAWADZKI TRIO & STRINGS ~ EUPHONY FOR TUNE 0077 (Barcode: 5902768701814) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the second album released on For TuneFind albums on this label Records by the Polish Jazz pianist / composer Sebastian ZawadzkiFind albums by this artist, who in spite of his young age has already quite an impressive portfolio of achievements to his credit, which includes several albums and notable soundtracks of Polish movies. Zawadzki, who currently resides in Copenhagen, like numerous other young Polish Jazz musicians, who studied there and decided to settle in Denmark, recorded this album at the Danish Royal Academy of Music with an international team of musicians. It features his piano trio with Swedish bassist Johannes VahtFind albums by this artist and Danish drummer Morten LundFind albums by this artist and a string quartet comprising of musicians from different countries. The album presents twelve original compositions, all by Zawadzki, which encompass solo piano, trio, string quartet and septet (trio & strings) lineups. The music is beautifully melodic, romantic and lyrical, smoothly amalgamating Jazz and Classical elements with taste and elegance. Although this kind of music often borders on muzak or schmaltz, Zawadzki manages to avoid crossing the line and keeps the music ambitious and accessible at the same time. The idea of using different instrumental lineups saves this album from sounding somewhat monotonous, which is always a danger. Of course some listeners might find it too "pretty", but honestly serene, harmonious, well composed and beautifully played music is always a blissful aesthetic experience. It is interesting to compare this album with his previous For Tune release ("LuminescenceFind albums with this title"), which was a solo piano outing recorded over two years earlier. Zawadzki made quite a leap forward with his music, as evident on this new album, and learned to avoid many of the tribulations present on the earlier recording, which is commendable. This album is of course a complete anomaly in the For Tune catalog, a proof of the label´s continuous search for new areas where good music thrives, which is greatly appreciated.

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