Record Reviews

IL SOGNO ~ BIRTHDAY GOTTA LET IT OUT 16 ~ ITALY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by young European Jazz trio Il SognoFind albums by this artist comprising of Italian pianist Emanuele ManiscalcoFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and Danish drummer Oliver LaumannFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten compositions, nine of which are originals (seven by all three members of the trio and one each by Maniscalco and Jacobson) and one is a famous movie theme. Although this is seemingly a classic Jazz piano trio, there is absolutely nothing conventional about this music or the performances. The music is based on composed motifs, but presents a dimension of freedom, which is its most important element. The relatively concise pieces are an excellent way to expose the listener to as many different facets of the music as possible, and the diversity is very impressive. The music creates an atmosphere of lyricism and melancholy, which of course is typical of European Jazz, emphasizing delicate interplays and intrinsic elegance rather than powerful expressionism. The melodic content is often implied rather than explicitly stated, which of course is a wonderful way to involve the listener within the intellectual process of "recreating" the music in the listener´s mind, filling the blanks in many different ways. The individual contributions by all three musicians are superb in every way. Maniscalco paints an expressionist melodic landscape with his elegant touches, Jacobson uses the bass completely outside of the bass convention in a most original and inventive way and Laumann is also a very unconventional drummer, who does everything except keeping time, which this music of course does not need at all. Overall this is an extraordinary debut album, full of great music and excellent performances. The album´s duration is a bit short (about thirty five minutes), but considering that it was released on vinyl and the CD is only a promotional copy, this is a minor matter. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 04/10/2022Posted: 15/02/2018

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MOUNT MEANDER ~ LIVE IN BERLIN GOTTA LET IT OUT 29 ~ LATVIA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2017 Released: 2019 This is the second album by the international Jazz quartet Mount MeanderFind albums by this artist, which comprises of Latvian saxophonist Karlis AuzinsFind albums by this artist, German pianist Lucas LeidingerFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and German drummer Thomas SauerbornFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions all attributed collectively to the quartet members, which were recorded live in a Berlin Jazz club. The music is a continuation of the formula introduced on the quartet´s debut album, which offers a series of conversations between the musicians based around fragmented melodic themes, but mostly freely improvised. It is however much more coherent and offers a wonderful continuity in comparison to the previous effort, which was somewhat hesitant, obviously marking the early days of this musical adventure. It is a wonderful example of contemporary Improvised Music / Free Jazz at its best. It is minimalist and restrained, completely non-aggressive and highly cooperative, but allows for highly expressive soloing by the individual musicians. All four members of the quartet contribute sublime performances throughout the duration of the album, but it is difficult to ignore the stunning contributions by Auzins, who reaches an emotional apex equal to the great Masters of the genre. His fluidity and inventiveness are absolutely incredible. But the rest of the quartet is definitely up to par with the saxophone magic, each one of them in a different way; Leidinger lays sheets of atmospheric vistas and his delicate touches in the quiet passages are all masterful, Jacobson keeps the pulse of the music steady and gives it an anchor without which it would disintegrate and finally Sauerborn ornaments the rhythmic layer more intuitively than chronometrically. In short this is a magic performance. Overall this is definitely one of the best European Avant-Garde Jazz albums that landed on my desk so far in 2019. It offers a hope and a beacon for Avant-Garde Jazz and Improvised Music, which sadly more often than not tend to fall apart and become more radical and chaotic than need be in an attempt to try and be original. One can only hope that more music of this quality will be made by these young musicians soon. Hats off Gentlemen!

Updated: 28/07/2019Posted: 28/07/2019

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KARLIS AUZINS ~ ONENESS AND THE TRANSCENDENT TRUTH GOTTA LET IT OUT 43 (Barcode: 5707471064658) ~ LATVIA ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is a solo saxophone album by Latvian Avant-Garde Jazz saxophonist / composer Karlis AuzinsFind albums by this artist, one of the most interesting upcoming European Jazz musicians. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Auzins. Solo albums, especially those in the Avant-Garde idiom, are usually somewhere between extremely trying to absolutely unlistenable. But this masterpiece is something from a completely different frame of reference. Recorded using exclusively "the acoustic sound possibilities of the saxophone", this album offers an amazing kaleidoscope of sounds, which often are hard to believe as originating from saxophone, using the vibrations and natural harmonics of the instrument, as well as its percussive possibilities. There is very little of what is expected as "saxophone playing" per se and most of the music is created unconventionally, using the instrument to produce most unearthly sounds. And yet all this bizarre cascade of sounds makes perfect sense, creating altogether highly emotional and obviously fascinating sonic vistas, which take the instrument into interstellar space. Obviously describing this music, as already demonstrated above, is completely futile. This is way beyond words and all I can say is that this is definitely some of the most exciting, unusual and daring musical ventures I have heard in 2019, and I have heard a lot of albums, and I mean A LOT! Auzins is an Artist to be watched and his output so far is already quite remarkable, so God only knows what he will come up with next. In the meantime grab this piece of magic and your life will not be dull again ;)

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 20/01/2020

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IL SOGNO ~ GRADUATION GOTTA LET IT OUT 47 (Barcode: 8031697501527) ~ ITALY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is the second album by young European Jazz trio Il SognoFind albums by this artist, comprising of Italian keyboardist Emanuele ManiscalcoFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and Danish drummer Oliver LaumannFind albums by this artist. The album presents fifteen tracks, twelve of which were composed or co-composed by the members of the trio and three come from other sources. With a switch from the acoustic piano to an electric Wurlitzer piano and synthesizer the sound of the trio changes into gentle, almost ambient vistas, based on melodic themes, and Fusion oriented flow (see Weather ReportFind albums by this artist), which also incorporates elements of Free and Eastern mysticism. In short this album is very different from the debut, but considering the fact that five years passed between the two recordings, it is hardly surprising. Despite the fact that the album is divided into separate tracks, it offers a sonic continuity, which allows listening to the music as a continuous experience, which can be a bit trying at times due to the slow tempi and minimal dynamics, but on the other hand has an enchanting meditative character, which allows the listener to get completely absorbed into the music. The individual contributions are exceptional and all three members of the trio get equal opportunities to show their chops. Although Maniscalco is in charge of the melodies and the ambient synthesizer layers, both Jacobson and Laumann are clearly audible for the entire duration and often step out of the role of the rhythm section to offer their soli. The relatively sparse concentration of sounds allows for all three instruments to be clearly heard for the entire duration and the crystal clear sound quality allows the listener to enjoy the music in full detail. Overall, this is an excellent follow up album, full of beautiful sounds and excellent contributions by the trio members, which manage to create a very unique ambience, somewhat resembling the Acid Jazz of the 1990s, but with a greater dose of Free improvisation. For Jazz fans searching for new excitements, this just might be exactly what they are searching for. I for one had an absolute blast listening to this music; it’s fresh, exciting and exploring, and yet entertaining.

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 04/12/2021

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MANERI / KALMANOVITCH / JACOBSON / OSGOOD ~ VARIATIONS ON NO PARTICULAR THEME – PART 2 GOTTA LET IT OUT 50 ~ USA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the second part of the “diptych” recorded by the international Improvised Music quartet, which comprises of American violist Mat ManeriFind albums by this artist, Canadian violist Tanya KalmanovitchFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and Danish drummer Kresten OsgoodFind albums by this artist. The album presents six improvised pieces, all called “variation” and numbered, probably according to the recording sequence (my guess). The music is as improvised as it gets, with no melodic continuity whatsoever, with everything happening in a spur of the moment, exactly as expected in such circumstances. However, the unusual instrumentation, which is a sort of string trio with drums, has a natural appeal and manages to attract the attention of listeners used to the Improvised Music ambience. There is no doubt that these are highly original musicians with a wide experience, which helps them to develop the crisscross conversations between them, which create a series of solo / duo / trio / quartet statements, weaved within the time continuity, and which eventually start to make sense to the open-minded listener. Overall, this is an almost “romantic” excursion within the Improvised Music scene, which might be able to reach a somewhat wider audience than most of such recordings eventually do. Kudos to Jacobson and his Gotta Let It OutFind albums on this label label, which is one of the most prolific independent Improvised Music labels active in Europe today.

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 04/10/2022

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SOUNDING SOCIETY ~ HOMECOMING MEDLEY GOTTA LET IT OUT 54 (Barcode: 5707471088548) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2021 Released: 2023 This is the debut album by the Sounding SocietyFind albums by this artist quartet, founded by Polish (resident in Denmark) bassist / composer Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and including Polish drummer / composer Szymon GasiorekFind albums by this artist, Italian gong player and healer Ylenia FioriniFind albums by this artist and Danish keyboardist Rasmus Kjaer LarsenFind albums by this artist. The album presents a four-piece continuous piece of music, assumably spontaneously created by the four musicians. Jacobson owns the Gotta Let It OutFind albums on this label label, which released over 50 albums since its inception less than a decade ago, with some of the most thought-provoking Improvising Music currently recorded. He is also a prolific recording artists / bandleader, who seems to be completely unbounded by any conventions or musical boundaries and personifies the “Free Spirit” approach on the contemporary European music scene. This album is a modern version of the New Age idiom, which was explosively popular by the end of the Last Millennium, but died soon after in a self-decaying process of boredom and pretentiousness. This new attempt of reviving the genre is undoubtedly more intelligent and spiritually closer to the New Age concept of searching for new experiences, combining Improvised Music with the meditative tranquility rather than floating on nauseating melodic sweetness. As such, this music is challenging and spiritually engrossing, especially for listeners prone to such trends. Personally, I can appreciate the effort and the energy the musicians employ to create this music, but it leaves me rather cold. Overall, this is another facet of the highly prolific and searching activity by Jacobson, which should be admired for its intensity, dedication, consistency and hard work. This particular music is highly personal and will interest listeners, who have a pre-disposition to the spiritual New Age idiom, rather than Improvised Music per se, but the Artistry cannot be denied.

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 16/03/2023

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