Kobi Arad – electric piano, analogue bass, vocoder
Henoc Bazelais Montes – bass
Ray MacNaught – drums
Greenpath Musical Productions Inc. / 2020
Chicago, January 2021
Kelvin Sholar – Pianist, Educator
Danilo Gallo – bass, baritone guitar, acoustic guitar, composition
Massimilano Milesi – tenor / soprano sax / clarinet
Francesco Bigoni – tenor sax / clarinet
Jim Black – drums
Parco della Musica Records / March 2020
1 DEMOLITION 6:50
Beginning with a baritone figure, then joined by Black on drums and both saxophonists in left and right stereo fields; this piece immediately pulls you into the sound of an actual band – not a glorified jam session. This music has a real polyphonic texture with independent lines which influence each other. Black is not just a drummer pounding out an incessant groove, but a color palate of sound and dynamics. Gallo is a rock of constant support, underpinning Bigoni’s adventurous solo. This is child of Jazz and Rock in a beautiful dialog. The groove changes for Milesi’s solo as the tonal pallet of the baritone guitar gains an edgy distortion. Bigoni and Milesi join forces while never stepping into each other’s way. A great ending with interesting down tempo pings of metallic soundscape.
2 THE TREE AND THE WATER 6:34
A beautiful and sensitive beginning with a clarinet duo, which morphs into polyphonic ballad with the saxophones. A third part comes in over a steady groove. I love how Gallo drops beats without filling up every moment with sound. Black is a sure and deft accompanist for the double saxophone feature: Bigoni out right solos while Milesi accompanies with multi-register lines. Music like this couldn’t be played if the musicians didn’t respect the composer, the music and each other. It’s never too full and always moving. Milesi breaks out with a solo in the fourth movement which spearheads the dynamics in a crescendo that erupts and dissolves. Dynamics! The writing is thoughtful and beautiful, the ending is through-composed art.
3 RUBBLE DUST 6:41
A beginning sound collage with a drum groove that lays a bed for the saxophones to offer sound. The second movement shows Black to be an unpredictable master of broken-beats. It feels un-composed while being totally under control. Both horns solo over different tutti band moments, which are brilliant. Somehow another groove evolves, before the end – in a cloud. The dynamics shift for Gallo’s solo offerings, before the horns and drums accompany with muted colors. The end is patient and sincere, as Black lays back for the trio to fade.
4 NO BOUNDARIES 7:58
A shimmer of color. An atmosphere. The sitar-like vibes of the guitar are inviting. Space is used as deftly as sounds and effects. In the second movement a groove emerges with Milesi on soprano and Bigoni on tenor. Pulsing and droning at once. This band has a multi-movement sound and approach which is unique and masterful. The groove disintegrates before your eyes as the band retreats back into Gallo’s shimmer. Well done!
5 SHORT MEMORY REPRISE 0:28
True to its name, Bigoni and Milesi give us a brief glimpse of a memory – this sets up a contrast on the record – where one can never expect what tonal palette will happen from track to track. Always thoughtful, never cliche. Capturing your full attention, yet breathing.
6 EYES OF TWILIGHT 6:32
Like the meditation bell starting a session. The horns in stereo paint colors and lead us into the great hall. Tinkling and metallic soundscapes great us there. Swirls of sound and incense arise, warm smokes fills the sonic room. This ensemble makes sound and music, never predictable – always lovely. A groove arises while Bigoni solos on the clarinet and Milesi accompanies on tenor sax. Black is ever present but never overbearing. Gallo leads with concept, a crystal hand in a velvet glove. As unexpectedly as the groove arises does it evaporate, the band just disappears.
7 IF YOU RAISE A WALL YOU GET LOW 8:03
A soprano sax and clarinet double-improvisation, over a random noise generator and acoustic guitar pickings. Contemporary, but rooted in mastery of traditional forms of composition and improv. The distorted bass and drums enter with a muscular groove. Time dissolves over a free jazz interlude with electronic accentuations. Multi-movement – grooves come and go, start and stop with joyful abandon! This songs ends without premeditation, all end at once in a lovely chord.
8 I CAN’T SEE YOU 7:14
Bigoni begins alone, evoking the full sound of his horn, Suddenly, Black and Gallo enter with a droning groove over tinkling sounds. Bigoni’s melody begins before Milesi enters with his own invocation of the pallet of the tenor sax. Then, both horns trade turns on stating the melody or harmonizing with Gallo’s bass figure, or with each other. Big drum toms punctuate Milesi’s solo, as Bigoni supports with Gallo. In the final act, the baritone guitar sets up another penetrating line to guide the band, as Black switches to brushes. This music is dynamic, sometimes quiet, sometimes loud – but always in control.
9 BRICKS ON TILT 3:24
An edgy brick of a sound in the center of the stereo field. Suddenly, a powerful pseudo-blues emerges. Powerful and central, almost punk-like in its audacity. Gallo jumps across registers, while the horns engage in a bull-fight with Black. Free-jazz Punk, if you will; and a refreshing sound. It ends with a rounder brick of a sound.
10 A VIEW THROUGH A SLOT 4:25
The clarinet and soprano start with percussion accents. Then Gallo and Black fully enter. Again, Black masters the broken beat without distracting from the flow of time. It’s beautiful to hear them maintain this feel and evolve into a different more steady feel, before returning to the broken beat feel. A true band at work with a great composer. Somehow, I am reminded of Charles Mingus – and this is good, as the band conjures his control of sounds and tempo.
11 INSIDE THE CRACK 1:39
An electronic cloud, with pulsing distortion. Suddenly, the sand churned up by the underwater storm is cleared and we find ourselves in a dense landscape. Four tracks of horn sounds: clarinet far left, both tenors in the middle, and clarinet on far right! Out of nowhere the road ends right at the stop sign, and the engine turns off!
12 SHORT MEMORY 7:17
The short memory is expanded here into a commentary. Layers of sound and different grooves. The climax is a rise in energy, but not a loss of control as the tenors intertwine. Power rhythm section work. The third movement continues to rise as Black pumps and pulls the band. The last band hit precedes the sitar-like guitar’s final comments.
13 THE TREE AND THE WATER REPRISE 1:07
The bright acoustic strumming is also careful and sure. It is as beautiful as a children’s song, but for a mature audience. The record ends on a sincere promise.
Hide, Show Yourself! is a full work, a musician’s opus which is never disappointing. I would love to see this live and to watch the music made before my ears and eyes. This record feels like a concert which happened without an audience; intimate but accessible to the masses. You can dance or you can brood in a corner. You can listen with your lover, or rock out while you burn down the town. Rarely does a work of art address all the moods that we need it to, while being a singular and universal communication. Bravo and well-done!!
Chicago, January 2021
Kelvin Sholar – Pianist, Educator
Review: Auterkeia: “Disco Tapes” / Released November 6, 2020
Jeremy Powell– beats, synth, flute, clarinet, cassette processing, mixing, mastering
1 Dawn
Starting with the clicks of an analog tape mechanism starting, this track soon progresses to a down-tempo beat featuring the classic Boss Dr 202 drum machine sound. Polyphonic layers of arpeggiated sounds add depth and sophistication. A swirl of electronic colors and a resonant bass lead us down a bright digital landscape into the dawn. It’s obvious that this music is made by a musician, as the diverse parts interact with each other musically – creating independent melodies and harmonies that merge into a fluctuating but unified texture.
2 South Bend
The pulsating bass and tape hiss hint at a world to come. Again, a polyphonic cloud of interacting melodies transport us to a dense, but forward moving scenario of South Bend. This is musical electronica, thoughtful and dynamic. It is refreshing to hear this aesthetic of sound without the necessity of a main melody harmonized in background chords – this is not a homophony, but a swirl of intelligent colors.
3 Doldrum Daydreams
Each track is consistent in perpetuating a self-supported sonic space. This album is more like a suite of like-minded sound collages than a collection of different moods. Every sound has a distinct function and modulations lead you down alternative paths through the daydream. This track is a three dimensional painting in many layers. Music like this can be played live, and loose none of its premeditated vigor.
4 It’s Just Business
A bouncy arpeggiator invites the listener into a tunnel that winds it’s way through the mechanical landscape. The processed flute blends so well with the digital sounds. A composer like this is familiar with the orchestrations of the past; but, fully aware of the textures and sounds of the present. His harmonies are never accidental, but they also never feel forced – “it’s not personal, it’s just business” What a beautiful flute choir at the end!
5 Replicant
A melody with such an interesting sonic signature begins the piece. Drums do not merely underline the rhythm, but add a layer of interaction that propels this track forward. In this music, modulation always leads us onward and upward; but never away from the musical core. Off-center rhythms and rubber bass lines create a dynamic density that enacts a musical chairs game – playfully. This music is clearly digital, but unmistakably analog and organic- exactly like a replicant dreaming of electric sheep.
6 All Is Love
The long tones of the bass line is broken up into rhythmic fragments, and filtered up and away from the low frequencies – into the highs. A shimmering melody joins in before the beat cements the visuals. Technically, the use of modulation adds a dimension of sound manipulation which allows the repetitive parts to always shift and morph musically. There is a nice contour to every track, building up to a certain point before sedated breakdowns. The processed flute returns, continuing a consistent sound-scape which runs throughout this record. A flute choir gives the meat and delivers us to love.
7 Night Heist
The opening arpeggiator is a long phrase which morphs into delays across the stereo field – widening our acoustic gaze. A resonant and shifting bass is corrupted through low frequency modulation, before the percussive groove comes in. Melody is never far from us, and textures are never predictable or static. This darkly lit room is wide across the left-right blend; and it is deep as many sounds of different volumes interact quite beautifully. Another meditative flute choir is conjured up to distract us from the night heist, while the jewels were stolen before our ears.
8 Highlands
A bagpipe from the future greets us on the highlands – it beckons us to dance to a neo-scottish theme. A bright flavored drone precludes a musky melody in the bowling greens. One catches flashes of techno-organic butterflies. A lush parading ensemble moves us along a conveyer belt of clarinet-like hands.
9 Smoke In The Distance
A down-filtered frenzy of self-guided sounds. The lazy smoke swirls and entices us to dream of what lies in the distance. The bass figure disappears, while the smoke fills the sonic room; but, it returns before the entire floor falls out plunging the listener far below. Dark bells tell us that there is something large and far-off that is causing the smoke; while assuring us that it is nothing to be afraid of. Suddenly, we have been thrust into the world of opiate illusion, and crossed a threshold that was hidden. The track ends with a lingering echo of the old world that we left behind, never to be found again.
REVIEW: GORDON GATHERER “DIPLOMACY CAUSE AND EFFECT: THE ART OF COMMUNICATION”
Author: Gordon Gatherer
ISBN-13: 9781646541737
Publication date: 07/20/2020
Pages: 70
I really enjoyed “Diplomacy: Cause And Effect” for several reasons.
First, this book illuminates the transformational effect that ordinary humans have; not just the positive and negative psychological effect on the minds and energies of another, but the tangible positive and negative physical effect on the very fabric of the all pervasive Space-Time arena.
Second, this book outlines simple elements of diplomacy:
- communication
- information
- self awareness
- respect for the power of words
- eye contact
- non-interruption
They make for an effective negotiation on a personal, social or even national level.
This book helps us to be mindful of how we present our thoughts, and on how we receive them; improving diplomatic actions. Listening before reacting, for example, is something that I as a musician resonate deeply with and have found to be essential to a group performance.
Separating our negotiant behaviors from our own negative thoughts and emotions brings a deeper spiritual awareness to diplomacy. Making decisions in the best interest of the entire world, makes us less self-centered even at home.
I recommend this book for those seeking to go beyond the norm and encounter diplomacy as a way of life.
Kelvin Sholar – Musician, Educator
Chicago, November 2020
REVIEW: Greg Burk Expanding Trio: “Message In The Clouds”
Greg Burk – piano, compositions
Stefano Senni – bass
Enzo Carpentieri – drums
Tonos Records 2020
1. Message In The Clouds
Musically, the atmosphere of Spain meets the spaciousness sky of Jazz and the limitless sea of creative improvisation. Here time is fluid and flexible, but never non-present. The vamp section is hypnotic! Just as the vamp arose from fluid time, so is it dissolved.
2. Don’t Disappear
The left hand piano and bass doubling is superb on the intro of this ballad. This track demonstrates that Burk is a Jazz composer as much as world-class performer. Senni’s feature on the melody is both poignant and rich.
3. Afterimage
Carpentieri’s drum answers to the piano and bass figure are delicious and dynamic. This swings in the traditional way, but is free of any sedentary retrospection. Burk’s hands are independent and dependent; a rare and lovely expression of the piano’s possibilities.
4. Love Wins
Another pensive ballad which breathes and ponders. The sound of the trio is full of respect for each other and the tradition; but, full of fresh dialogue among friends. The time dissolves into a rhapsodic tumult of sound as the trio reaches beyond the ballad framework to the power of unbridled passion. An ensemble work worth note.
5. Peace for Vanessa
Open plains and colorful cloud with delicate memories. How the lines of melody intersect among bass and piano is beautiful. Burk combines Americana, Gospel and Jazz harmonies as if there is no boundary to his artistic vision. Great solo by Senni, and sturdy accompaniment by Carpentieri – even his back-beat breathes.
6. Jade Smile
Clusters accent the clear and deft melody. Burk sings in every context and his group act as one. This waltz is as modern as can be, accented by breaths of freedom. Each member brings a world of sound to bear on the shape of the whole interpretation.
7. Breaking The Limits
A tour-de-force of writing and performance. Again, Carpentieri’s dynamic drum answers to the group is remarkable. Group interplay on this level is refreshing and promising. Full command of every dynamic spectrum and they are always listening for the most subtle change of melodic and rhythmic direction. This is Freedom!
8. Creature Comforts
Tight group statements of the melody define the deftness of this trio. Though the instrumentation is trio, this music sounds as full as an orchestra. Rich ideas and penetrating artistry abounds in every track. Burk is a herald of music to come, while aware of the revolutions that has preceded him. What a piano sound: clear, distinct and commanding!
9. The Union
Timeless melodies are Burk’s forte. Each member of this trio displays many strata of melodic concept, which is both contrapuntal and monophonic – and on command! Burk’s solo is just inspirational; while Senni is no less certain and deft. This is definitely a group to look out for. Bravo!
Chicago, November 2020
Kelvin Sholar – Pianist, Educator