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George Koufogiannakis
Generations
2009
(Canada)
Inspired from the traditional Cretan music, "Generations" is more than Greek Oud Jazz, as it is stated on the CD cover. This impressive band featuring bass, drums, percussion, piano, organ, violin, saxophone, harp, flute, and George K himself playing oud, bouzuki and guitar, shows an equal understanding of the ancestral Greek musical elements and also requires a special feeling to blend all this musical treasures with jazz improvisations. The keyword is good taste without compromise.
George K is not merely juxtaposing traditional and modern themes and rhythms, his arrangements rise beyond a colorful kaleidoscope of eclectic sonorities to achieve inclusiveness, a new compositional structure that merges together the essence of Greek dances and the spontaneity of jazz orchestrations. There is a flavor of infused Eastern musical spirituality flowing, which gives the music a distinctive dimension.
Track listing:O Argaleios; Postcards on a Train ;As Poume; Dave's Blues;Dog River;Kaelin's Mood ; Yia Yia K.; Yo Mo ouD
Musicians: George Koufogiannakis - oud, guitar, bouzouki / Dan Skakun - drums / Thom Golub - acoustic bass
With Special Guests: Charlie Austin (retired Head of Keyboard Studies, GMCC) - piano & organ / Jeremiah McDade (JUNO & Canadian Folk Music Award winning multi-instrumentalist) - saxophones & violin / Joel Gray - trumpet / Terry McDade - harp / Jessica Rogers - flute / Kevin Parkinson - hand percussion / The Cosmopolitan Music Society Monday Night Band More info
Bruskers
Guitar Sketch
2009
(Italy)
On Guitar Sketch virtuoso Italian guitarists Matteo Minozzi and Eugenio Polacchini give a personal expression to a set of ten well-known jazz standards. The album features also a beautiful piece composed by E. Polacchini. It is a surprisingly fresh and energetic guitar dialogue, sometimes punctuated with humour, blending classical and "sketchy" jazz. The beauty of the album as a whole relies undeniably on the clever interplay between the two musicians. Their musical personalities intersect, complete and compliment each other, spontaneously filling the right space, telepathically finding the right tone at the speed of sound.
There is no cliché here, their swing is rather impressionistic and warm with an inventive twist to each song that often takes the listener by surprise.
Track listing:A Night in Tunisia;Blue Bossa;Black Orpheus;Little Piece in C for You;I Remember Clifford; All of Me; Not Tomorrow; Caravan; Besame Mucho;Take Five; Nature Boy
Musicians: Matteo Minozzi-guitar and Eugenio Polacchini-guitar Website
Anthony Ocaña
Solo
2009
(Spain)
Diversity leads to harmony seems to be the musical message emerging from
Anthony Ocaña's new album. From beginning to end, "Solo" is an exquisite journey built on classical lines blended with airy improvisations, distilled folk and jazz themes. Sculpting in sounds, Ocana uses spaces and tempos to create a structured concept revealed layer by layer to the listener. Each song tells a story, at times joyful at times contemplative yet seamlessly integrated with the overall elegant atmosphere noticeable throughout the album. Among the highlights, the intimate "Improviso 2 (a Anouar Brahem)" and the two Beatles classics arranged with a sense of freshness and free style.
Track listing:Joy Yesterday; Blackbird;Improviso;Poema a Icaro;Voyage;Framboyan;Nisibon
Improviso 2 a Anouar Brahem; Carnaval More info
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New Playlist Entries
Eternal Hug- A song from the CD Signal, released in 2009 by virtuoso guitarist Ernesto Cortazar Lara. From jazz to ambient and from jazz-rock to flamenco, Ernesto Cortazar built his reputation on mastering various genres and techniques with the same warm and spiritual approach.
Jonathan Éthier, a young and talented guitar player, composer and teacher from Montreal, Canada. Involved in various musical projects, he is using his creativity and skills to play jazz, rock, or compose music for films.
Featured Video:
Trio Tarana-Live in Aguascalientes Mexico
Featured Jazz Publication
jazzColours
(Italy)
Italian monthly Jazz email-zine, a real magazine in PDF format sent via email directly to your email box. Professionally written it covers international jazz: news, reviews and reports in a beautiful graphic presentation.
Il primo mensile di jazz in PDF, inviato via email direttamente sulla casella di posta elettronica offre uno spaccato sulla musica jazz internazionale More info
New Releases
Roberto Magris & The Europlane Orchestra
Current Views
Soul Note 2009
(Italy)
Ecclectic, european jazz is the end result of a group of talented musicians who developped a sense for mixing local, regional and transatlantic traditions using a personal, musical language. Italian pianist and bandleader Roberto Magris is among those artists who didn't stop exploring these traditions, continuously surprising us with his good taste and creativity. He is the founder and the artistic force behind Europlane Orchestra, a pan-European forum for talented musicians from a variety of countries.
On this new recording, Roberto Magris, who during his impressive career played with jazz musicians on both sides of the Atlantic for many years, assembled a mini big-band (a septet, and at times an octet) composed of trumpets, saxophones, guitars, basses and vibraphones. "Current Views", the third CD of this European union of musicians, bears the artistic mark of the founder who is the author and and the arranger of all tunes, with the exception of a standard composed by L.Robin/J. Kern.
There is certainly a spirit of Ellington and Mingus (just to name these two masters) in the air, but "Current Views" is more than a sum of influences and styles. Roberto Magris has the gift to connect styles and influences filtering them through his strong melodic sense.
While the seven tracks have been recorded during three concerts between 2002-2003, the symbiosis between all band members is remarkable and sounds like a unified whole.
At times, on some tunes, the piano may sound subdued and more meshed with the tapestry of the ensemble. At other moments, it takes the stage, but always adds a flavour of melodicity and swing. Behind improvisations and spontaneity lies a defining cohesive structure that gives this music a classical and modern flair at once.
The CD opens in an evocative tone infused with Italian folk influences, where the piano solo (The Story Teller) is gradually joined by horns and guitar (Philip Catherine). On "The Dukish Interlude" (a transparent reference to Duke Ellington), the atmosphere is more impressionistic, wrapped in dramatic tones. The beautiful vibraphone overture is followed by the unisonic horns-cymbals crescendo until the alto sax, the piano, and later the whole band picks up on an improvisational ride, that slows down to an ethereal soft landing.
Next comes "In Love In Vain", an entertaining version of the well-known standard, rich in polyphonies and groovy solos. "Hombres" is built around a playful latin theme smoothly melted in a dynamic freestyle arrangement featuring Vitold Rek on bass. "React!" continues the high-voltage sonic ride with expansive solos of piano, saxophone, bass and vibraphone, all in tune with the rhythm section and horns. With "Steady Mood" we enter a sophisticated, sensual realm weaved by saxophones and vibraphone, with the piano discretely completing the tapestry. Finally "For Naima" closes the show on an upbeat melodic note. The energy is passed around between the saxophone, trombone and guitar, while the exuberant electric organ adds more power.
"Current Views" is one of those fortunate meetings between musicality, spirit and rhythm that can only reward each and every listener.
Track listing: The Story Teller; Dukish Interlude; In Love In Vain; Hombres; React!; Steady Mood; For Naima
An exciting new release from Haftor Medbøe Group continuing the seductive cinematic atmosphere of their previous albums, this time blending in the smooth hypnotic vocals of Anneke Kampman(for some reason it reminds me of Skye) and tasteful drum programming. The new sonorities bring an interesting futuristic dimension to arrangements, fluidizing, breezing and echoing, yet without distorting the melodic poetry of the music. The album features five songs like a five act play(!) featuring a prologue and an epilogue. A special mention for the final track, "Surfrize", a meditative synthesis charged with emotion where all the band members excel in beautiful polyphonies, at times at unison or soloing. Trying to label Haftor Medbøe Group as a postmodern jazz fusionists may not be appropriate but it gives an idea of their artistic direction.
Track listing:Pneumatic; Leaving Nothing As We Leave; Up Spiral Up; As Time Spins Backwards; Surfrize
Musicians: Haftor Medbøe - guitars; Konrad Wiszniewski - saxophones; Chris Greive - trombone; Eva Malling - acoustic bass; Signy Jakobsdottir - percussion; Anneke Kampman - vocals;Gavin Hislop-programming More info
