CD Reviews
* Artists = G *

Ganelin / Vysniauskas / Gotesman: 'Trio Alliance' LeoLab 042

Vyacheslav Ganelin: piano, synth; Petras Vysniauskas: saxophones; Arkadi Gotesman: drums, percussion recorded live in Vilnius and Kaunas, October 1996

If you're new to Russian jazz you'd be well advised to start with a key figure in the music, Vyacheslav Ganelin. He is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser, and previous leader of the now-disbanded Ganelin Trio ( which still stands as the former Soviet Union's most influential new jazz group). He remains a pivotal figure in the Russian jazz world despite relocating to Israel in 1987. As this live recording attests, Ganelin has embarked on fresh adventures in creative improvised music, recently forming a trio alliance with old Lithuanian friend Petras Vysniauskas (himself an important and widely documented figure) and recent acquaintance, the Ukrainian-born but now Israeli-resident Arkadi Gotesman. The two half-hour pieces on this disc are live improvisations recorded during the trio's 1996 tour of Lithuania. Ganelin is clearly the leader here, introducing both pieces with keyboard improvisations. The first begins wistfully with the breathy textures of his synth, the second more casually rambling on a bright-sounding piano. The immediate sense suggests a mix of good humour and cheerful exploration. You do get the feeling that Ganelin is a prodigious improviser and could happily go on all night with just his keyboards, but the very impressive Vysniauskas steps into the spotlight several minutes into each piece and plays some beautiful and delicate curlicues of melody which lead into more urgent playing, opening up paths for the percussion of Gotesman. Vysniauskas possesses a tone of great warmth and feeling on soprano sax, exacting numerous dancing folk-like rhymes and capturing a palpable melancholy at times. While the first piece (recorded in Vilnius) presents an ensemble engaged in full-flight interaction, the second provides an opportunity to hear each of the players working the seams of their own solo music, until, twenty six minutes in and after a lengthy drum and percussion interlude, the trio suddenly hit full stride together with some jet-propeller rhythms from Gotesman and Vysniauskas working himself and Ganelin into a frenzy. It's sadly all over before you'd want it to be, but this is the nature of improv, for better or worse. Structurally, I prefer the first piece with its sense of drama, light and shade and some lovely atmospheric agreement between the three players. Cinematic in scope and texture (and not without humour, almost cartoonish in parts thanks to Ganelin's touch) the piece contrasts well with the more virtuosic extensions heard in the second piece, recorded at the concert in Kaunas. Ganelin's simultaneous and spontaneous orchestrations on piano and synth are also a great tonic. It would be a pity to pass over such fresh-sounding and invigorating music as this. Trio Alliance is full of surprises with enough quirky left-turns to keep the enjoyment levels high. Go seek.

contact: Leo Records : http://www.atlas.co.uk/leorecords/
or write to : Leo Records, 6 Anerly Hill, The Cottage, London SE19 2AA, UK

Reviewed by Matt Krieg
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Jan Garbarek : "Visible World" ECM 1585

Jan Garbarek possesses one the most universally potent and recogniseable saxophone voices in the world today. The Norwegian's early immersion in jazz and his exploration of his Nordic roots have combined to create a unique improvisor, equally at home in Keith Jarrett's Scandinavian (Belongings) Quartet, with Tunisian Anouar Brahem's North Africa Modalities or amongst The Hilliard Ensemble's 14th century vocal polyphonies. Garbarek's many excursion's into a multitude of musical and cultural contexts make him a true 'world' musician in every sense of the word. 'Visible World' reinforces this role and provides a tableau of beautiful cinematic imagery for the listener to voyage upon, the saxophonist setting down 15 tightly structured pieces, 10 of which had their genesis in music written originally for film and ballet. Appropriately, Garbarek's magesterial saxophone imposes itself strikingly throughout the recording, especially in the 5 pieces which are part of the 'Mangas Coloradas Suite' and in the 12 minute epic 'Evening Land' featuring singer Mari Boine, which provides a spectacular close with Garbarek's spiralling tenor wails sounding out intense final statements over a simple, driving pulse. Scorching stuff, high on atmosphere and emotionally laden with a sense of reverence, longing and acknowledgement. This new release would have to rate as one of the Norwegian's most appealing and striking studio ventures to date. There is a rich vein of melodic simplicity to these pieces, which are carefully extended by the contributions of old associates Rainer Bruninghaus, Eberhard Weber and Trilok Gurtu and more recent aquaintances Manu Katche and Marilyn Mazur. Overhead, Garbarek soars like a sage eagle ... the 'Visible World' is enriching view of a cultural domain with which we can all connect.

Reviewed by Matt Krieg
Source: JULY/AUG '96 'Jazz Notes'
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Mats Gustafsson / Paul Lovens: "Nothing To Read" Blue Tower BTCD03

Mats Gustafsson: Saxophones, Fluteophone, Flute ; Paul Lovens: Drums, Cymbals, Saw.

rec. March 1990, March 1991, Sweden

The entire package exudes an attitude of careful rumination. The booklet portrays two improvisers playing within the confines of a small library. Music made in the presence of manuals, tomes and almanacs may well have determined the atmosphere of these quiet, spacious and introspective pieces. Paul Lovens approaches his various percussive tools in the manner of a craftsman. Silence or near-silence is one of his most effective methods of creating tension and release. His contribution to the music is fine, filigreed and articulate. The out-of-focus photo depicts a drummer engaged in an intense and concentrated state. Mats Gustaffson is the more visceral player, with a carefully paced barrage that utilises the entire range of the horns and works to particular effect in the upper registers: wavering slurs, tonal distortions and rapid-fire melodic flights that generate urgency. Together, the duo meditate in a rarefied zone. This is a calming yet thought-provoking recording. Something happened there, amongst the rows of books, which caused a reflective music of real creativity to emerge. Nothing to read but much to listen to.

Contact: Blue Tower Records, Rorstrandsgaten 25, 11340 Stockholm, Sweden.

Reviewed by Matt Krieg
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