Belgium
David Linx-Azadi
Cyprus
Nastazio Gkoumas-La Palma
Album: World Access
Czech Republic
Ondrej Pivec/ Organic Quartet Who is The Organic Quartet? “Most of the band members are students of Jaroslav Jezek jazz College. In less than a year, this talented group of young Prague musicians (Ondrej Pivec was born 1984), have not only bowled over national and international critics (Hammondbeat USA, Allaboutjazz NewYork) but have also been hailed as the Best Talent of the Year and Pivec himself was named “Best Soloist of the Year” by the committee of Philips International Jazz Festival 2005.
France
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Elijah The jazz fusion is doing well in France, Elijah, a four member band, is the proof. They are building on those sources that made jazz fusion a well established genre, but adding their own signature and sensibilities. Their recent album “Virtual Place” is a highly creative blend of electronic and acoustic instrumental approaches; contributions from Nguyen Le and Michel Sanchez adding beautiful misterious, atmospheric layers to the perfect harmony of the ensemble. |
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Cyril Achard Guitar, Composer, EducatorA versatile electric and acoustic guitarist with an excellent guitar technique and a special feeling for melodic improvisations and rhytm. On “Essensuel” he explores a common ground between jazz, classical, pop, latin music. The result is a sensitive and exquisite acoustic album. |
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Emmanuel Binet Bass (electric and accoustic), Composer, arranger, producer Composing or improvising Emmanuel Binet have been blending for many years jazz, world music, folk, rock and other influences with the same exquisite sense of harmony and melody. Throughout his career he was involved in a multitude of musical projects collaborating with many proeminent musicians such as: Pierre Bensusan, Manu Katché, Didier Malherbe, Emmanuel Bex, Chico Freeman, and many others. One of his recent projects is the duo work with the remarkable guitarist Laurent Hestin. Joining their talent they pursuit an original exploration of a virtual ethnic jazz teritory from East to West, a blend of surprising colorful melodies and rhytms. |
Germany
Greece
ALEKOS-VRETOS-K-on-Top-of-the-Piano
Alekos K. Vretos Oudist, Composer Oudist Alekos K. Vretos brings his original contribution to the fusion between Greek and Arabic musical traditions. With respect for these two cultures he’s weaving melodic textures and rhytms tastefully blended with a twist of modernity, yet keeping alive that sense of misterious beauty and vibrato specific to the Oriental and Balkanic music. On “Yunan”, Alekos K. Vretos offers a superb demonstration of his master technique based on the perfect understanding of these rich, meaningful musical heritages.
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Trio Balkano Discover the melodies and the energy of the Balkan music mixed with free jazz and modern grooves. On their debut album released by Melissamusic, Alekos Papadopoulos (drums), Pandelis Stoikos (trumpet) and Lakis Tzimkas (bass) perform with incendiary joy, ten wonderful ethno fusion tunes rich in unexpected experimental sonorities. This is not folk music but a high creative fusion of sounds, emotions, feelings and humour immersed in the beauty of the Balkan musical traditions. “Some time now” is a superb excursion in that imaginary space where world cultures meet. |
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Happy Dog Project Happy Dog Project’s debut album “Dog Days are Over” marked the beginning of a contemporary and exciting band with an interesting electro jazz- funk-balkan-mediterranean signature. The rhythms are fast and intense, charged with a sort of melancholic, emotional tension, sometimes dark, obsessive, at times colored by clarinet, accordion and guitar but smoothed with the Fender Rhodes/Hammond sound. Changes in rhythms combined with smart electronic effects add to the atmosphere a mysterious, experimental dimension to this intriguing spectrum of textures. |
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Hristos Anestopoulos Patras Classical-12string-Electric guitars.On his debut album Hristos Anestopoulos combines classical and electric guitar with subtle passages of synthesizers in mediterranean soundscapes where bright energetic tones fusion with enigmatic ethereal melodies. |
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Nickos Kapilidis Drums Jazz in Balkans has many faces, the musical personality of artists infuses their compositions, bringing originality and uniqueness. Nickos Kapilidis is one of those rare musicians who can combine jazz and ethno themes with creative spontaneity and spirit without any trace of cliches or prefabricated sounds. We invite you to discover his latest recording, a brilliant work of magical jazz fusion. |
Italy
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Marco Lo Russo Accordionist and composer Marco Lo Russo mixes jazz, chamber music, oriental themes and nostalgic tango in a fascinating musical trip. Each time you listen this beautiful recording, you will discover something new and surprising. Although rooted in the Mediterranean space, his music transcends cultural boundaries and conventions to reach a high level of refinement yet full of energy and beat. |
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Gianni Bardaro (Italy/Denmark) Saxophone, Composer Italian composer and saxophonist Gianni Bardaro just released “Overflow”, an album full of surprises for modern jazz fans. Featuring musicians from Italy, Norway and Denmark the quintet has built a distinct jazz vocabulary based around Gianni Bardaro’s compositions. Balancing between lyricism and swing the album has plenty of memorable moments. The sax-piano-trumpet interactions backed by a bold bass-drum section is clearly a winning formula either drawing melodic lines on Song For Dicembre or blending energetic sax-trumpet grooves on Supernova Latina. |
 Bruskers Guitar Sketch 2009 |
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 BoyMusicians: Matteo Minozzi-guitar and Eugenio Polacchini-guitar Website |
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Guido Santoni Pianist, ComposerHard to pinpoint Guido Santoni’s musical category since he is continuously and spontaneously defying borders and styles. He only lets his skills and imagination to use freely the universal language of music. The black and white keys become invisible under his hands while releasing a tapestry or torrents of impressionistic fragments, endless ineffable harmonies. If his music is infused with jazz is of less importance, what it counts is the unlimited beauty that Guido Santoni expresses with passion! |
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Alboran Trio Modern Jazz/Free Improvisation Intimate Mediterranean reflections, acoustic fusion of melodies flowing across cultural boundaries. Three distinguished musicians in constant synergy, brilliant solos, fascinating dialogues. At times meditative at others joyful, “Meltemi” is a brilliant piece of work rich in emotions and atmospheres. The exquisite encounter of echoes from Southern Europe with fresh free jazz patterns. |
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Maurizio Bozzi(Bozorius) Electric and acoustic bass, guitars, composer, arranger Maurizio Bozzi is one of the most talented bass players in Italy and a very versatile musician. In the summer of 1999 he played in the European tour of Larry Coryell’s Eleventh House (as a substitute for Jeff Berlin)with Alphonse Mouzon on drums, and Shunzo Ono on trumpet. In the same summer, he also plaeds with Al Di Meola and Larry in a great concert in Bologna (piazza Maggiore). In 2004 he founded the new indie label “Drycastle records”. |
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Tiziano Zanotti Bass player, composer, educator (Italy) Recently released “Influences” is the work of a very special duo. Tiziano Zanotti, bass and Alessio Alberghini soprano sax, took the challenge to revisit a collection of standards using the maximum of their talent to get the most out of their instruments. The difficulty was not just to balance the bass and sax tonalities but to keep alive the spirit and color of tunes such as Ornithology or Yardbird Suite. The experiment proved to be successful both ways, the listener will be charmed by Tiziano Zanotti’s spacious, warm double bass playing and Alessio Alberghini’s beautiful designed sax sound shifting from mellow tones to surprising playful improvisations. In the end this clever synthesis of technique and emotion will certainly makes you realize you’re not just listening to another rendition of standards but to a quite genuine sonic signature. |
Moldova
Trigon An established name in Ethno Jazz, Trigon was founded in 1992 by viola virtuoso Anatol Stefanet, member of Okay Temiz “Black Sea Orchestra” named by the press “all star band” (Virtual Womex) He plays with Enver Izmailov and Vali Boghean in “Sea zone trio ” and with Berlin Experimenti Orchestra, conducted by Bardo Henning.
Portugal
Romania
Serbia
AbRe – Saskovo Oro
| Dimitrije Vasiljevic Piano Dimitrije Vasiljevic is a New York-based award-winning pianist and composer who has been hailed by jazz masters as one of the most promising names in the jazz world. His is a new voice combining the gentle flavor of European jazz with intricate musical landscapes full of exotic rhythms and sophisticated harmony. This multi-talented pianist is today among the most exciting new artists on the NYC jazz scene. | |
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Nenad Vasilic Bass Guitar Outstanding bass player, arranger and composer Nenad Vasilic is a key reference in the Balkan ethno jazz music universe. His colorful “Balkan Band” plays a superb folk-modern jazz fusion with true passion and sensitivity |
Spain
Jaima-Bolonia
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Tomas San Miguel+TxalapartaVirtuoso acordionist and pianist Tomas San Miguel and his band released a new album full of dynamic and exuberant fusion of jazzy themes, basque rhytms(txalaparta is an ancient percussion instrument)powered by modern rhytms. Mixing tradition and modernity Tomas San Miguel creates a music that has a touch of magical beauty. Dynamic and delicate at the same time. |
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Anthony Ocaña Dominican Republic/Spain) Composer, Guitar A brilliant acoustic album full in textures, subtle sonorities that echoes some of Gismonti & Vasconcelos duos. The ten compositions range from poetic melodies to energetic fast-paced improvisations, quite adventurous at times, fused tastefully with vocal(Maridalia Hernandez)and inventive percussion accents(Guarionex Aquino and Isidro Bobadilla). Anthony Ocaña’s first album shows that type of special talent that can fuse together virtousity and sentiments with profound and true feeling. |
Sweden
Orjan Hulten Composer, Saxophone player
Örjan Hultén Orion-The Bird
Switzerland
David Wildi Composer, guitarist
Memorable fusion sound from Swiss guitarist David Wildi. You will appreciate not just the great skills of this talented musician but his warm melodicity and lyricism. There’s lots of wonderful moments on “Windsong”: from elegant, symphonic touches to more bluesy, rock and funk grooves. The listener will discover a well articulated selection of cross-over sonorities performed with emotion and great attention to detail and composition.
Turkey
“Firat Turkusu” from Second Nature by Minor Empire. Released: 2011.
United Kingdom
Delta Saxophone Quartet
Dedicated to You…But You Weren’t listening
Moonjune Records 2007
A superb collection of impressions inspired by some of the legendary Soft Machine songs, performed by DSQ. Although built around Soft Machine’s motifs the four musicians create their own estethic and sensibility. This kaleidoscopic ensemble of colors and polyphonies arranged to form one fresh unitary vision is certainly not a Soft Machine cover but rather an exquisite contemporary reflexion of their avant garde poetry. What contributes most to the charm of the music, besides the unsurpased refinement of the execution, is the interpenetration of chamber-jazz-contemporary perspectives in a variety of spontanious (at times, majestic) architectures.
Magdalena Reising (UK/Poland)
Singer, songwriter, musician
Singer Magdalena Reising’s debut album gives the listener a good view of her talent as an inspired songwriter and sensitive performer. She sings with a mature, clear voice, with no artificial “prettyness”, or using melodramatic cabaret-styled cliches. The album features a well balanced diversity and alternance of tempos and rhytms, from meditative to joyful, beautifully captured in a jazz-blues atmosphere by excellent musicians featuring Christopher Page, a master pianist. “Blue Cafe” is a promising debut for this gifted artist and also an album enjoyable from beginning to end.
Retrofusion
Retrofusion is a project put together by a group of session musicians to recreate the classic jazz-fusion sounds of the last 30 years, when fusion had soul, funk and humour. As leading exponents of the UK jazz-fusion scene and now established composers in their own right Retrofusion has recreated the excitement and dynamism of the classic music from that time. We invite you to take a trip down memory lane and sample some of the jazz-fusion flavours from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Franc O’Shea Bass guitar, composer, educator, producer
A complex artist with a keen understanding of ancient cultures and myths he creatively blends in his music. “Alkimia” is a magical journey through the universe of Spanish, Irish and African music, which lays beyond standards and classifications. The overall result is a rich chromatic concept played with elegance and spirit by all band members, eight top musicians and masters of their instruments. Music with intellectual substance. A special note for the wonderful CD sleeve and graphics. ‘