Record Reviews

TOM ARTHURS ~ ONE YEAR OZELLA 077 (Barcode: 4038952000775) ~ UK ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2018 This is an album by British trumpeter / composer Tom ArthursFind albums by this artist recorded in a trio format with his long time collaborator pianist Richard FairhurstFind albums by this artist and Finnish drummer Markku OunaskariFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original compositions, all by Arthurs. The music is beautifully intimate, with melodic themes sketched lightly and later improvised upon just by being gently touched by the trio members, like a balloon floating in the air. Obviously minimalist and brilliantly transparent, the music is deeply moving and in complete contrast to its form completely overwhelming and mesmerizing. All three musicians are masters of achieving the maximum effect with a minimal number of notes and sounds. As a result the music they create consists as much of the sounds they produce as of the silence trapped within the music. The calmness and the elegance of this music are completely unique and stand above most of contemporary Jazz / Improvised Music efforts of this kind. Arthurs indicates that the inspiration to his open compositions originates in the process of cinematic work by the Russian director Anderi TarkovskyFind albums by this artist (especially the making of his masterpiece "Mirrors"), which was based on filming a huge amount of scenes and then shuffling the selected material around until the end product was finally reached. Arthurs describes his process of creating the music on this album as "Composing like Tarkovsky", which in his case manages to achieve the same astounding outcome as in the case of Tarkovsky´s movies. It is impossible to categorize this music by the existing genre categories, as it escapes classification, perhaps even pointing to a new musical direction, which is based on European modernism but incorporates all the beauty and emotion from all known genres and is an absolute mind-blowing and soul-expanding experience. "Quiet is the new loud", which was initially coined to describe the Nordic pop music, is hereby expanded to apply to all contemporary music. Perhaps subconsciously, but unmistakably, this album marks a new phase for British Jazz as well, with the Kenny WheelerFind albums by this artist / John TaylorFind albums by this artist spirit omnipresent here, but taken a step further no doubt. Overall this is a magnificent piece of music, one of the best to arrive on my desk in 2018, and wholeheartedly recommended to everybody who still looks at music as a source of joy and enlightenment.

Updated: 23/10/2018Posted: 23/10/2018

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