Tag Archives: 2020

Artist, CD-Reviews

Florian Ross Quartet: Reason & Temptation

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German composer and pianist Florian Ross has released a new album “Reason & Temptation” on April 6 on his own label Toy Piano Records. This time it is with his quartet featuring

  • Florian Ross: Steinway D Grand Piano
  • Sebastian Gille: Tenor & Soprano Sax
  • David Helm: Bass
  • Fabian Arends: Drums

The quartet was in the Deutschlandfunk studio in Cologne to record Florian Ross’ latest large ensemble project “ARCHITEXTURE” involving 7 woodwinds and a Jazz quartet when it turned out that the last day of the production wasn’t needed. After a week of hard work of bringing very structured and detailed music to life (Reason), the quartet spontaneously decided that they wanted to use the extra time in the studio to ‘just play’ in quartet (Temptation). Florian Ross knocked together some of his favorite unreleased pieces as well as an old Ralph Towner favorite and the band went for it. The album is a fantastic collection of seven group improvisation pieces and six songs.

The album starts with “Progress Report”, the first of those originals from Florian. The solos by saxophone and piano are free and both soloists get excellent support by drums and bass to increase their dynamics during the improvisation. Rather special and very “wooden” is the saxophone sound, but I like it very much.

The next two songs “Dandelion” and “Ignorance is Bliss” are group improvisations. “Dandelion”, dominated by piano and saxophone, starts in a very ambiguous mood, but has a beautiful and atmospheric ending. “Ignorance is Bliss” is a dialog between saxophone and bowed bass with some soft support by piano and drums.

“Rondo #4″ is the next original by Florian and this song is my absolute favorite. A superb melody and a gentle swinging band make it also the most conventional song on the album. Nice solos by piano and bass.

The album continues with two more group improvisations titled “Shallow” and “Teriyaki Terrier”. “Shallow” begins as a dialog between piano arpeggios and bass. Calm drumming and just a little bit of long saxophone notes are added. “Teriyaki Terrier” features Sebastian Gille on saxophone, an interesting dialog between bass and saxophone develops which is extended by drums and later piano.

“Reckoning” is the next song, another original by Florian Ross, played very straight with a neat melody and beautiful solos by  Sebastian Gille on saxophone, Florian Ross on piano and David Helm on bass.

“Celeste” by Ralph Towner comes next. This gorgeous ballad is played very sensitive and gentle. Another highlight on the album.

“Make a Swish”, another group improvisation is the next tune. The piano starts as a fugue and stays rhythmically in that mood. Dynamics increase and the tune becomes darker to the end.

“Broomstick” is the next composition by Florian Ross. A heavy modulating theme and a groove that switches between Second Line and Latin for the saxophone solo and Swing and Latin for Florian Ross on piano. Great piano solo where Florian shows that he masters his tune and allows himself room for rhythmic freedom.

“U.A.F.” is the next group improvisation, the bass takes the lead here and piano and drums support him. The tune ends in a dialog between a steady bass and saxophone with little drums support.

“Reckoning” is coming next, we heard a  straight version before and this alternate version is much more open and free. Very interesting to compare the two versions.

The album ends with “Fever Dream”, a group improvisation that begins with a piano in ambiguous impressionistic style and natural sounds like birds singing. The mood changes but at the end the piano returns to the impressionistic sound and the album ends in this ambiguity.

“Reason & Temptation” is an an intensive album, 65 minutes of demanding music. The main characteristic is the variation between composed and improvised tunes which makes the album scenic, rich in contrast and diversified. With excellent compositions and outstanding musicians you have a perfect album in your hands. Please take your time and let this music in your ears, your mind and your soul.

An album teaser has been published on youtube:

More information about Florian Ross can be found on his website:
http://www.florianross.de/

And finally the complete album on Spotify:

Artist, CD-Reviews

Christian Tamburr: The Awakening – Sounds For Sculpture

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The Awakening Folder Cover

Vibraphonist and composer Christian Tamburr has released a fantastic album called “The Awakening – Sound for Sculpture” which was inspired by ten bronze sculptures by renowned sculptor Seward Johnson.

Christian Tamburr explains: “The concept for the album came from an afternoon walk through the Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton NJ, where I was inspired by the lush botanical gardens and transformative thematic scenes surrounding Seward’s sculptures. With the kind permission of Seward Johnson, the Seward Johnson Atelier and the Grounds For Sculpture, the process to select and start composition around the amazing sculptures began. The vision was to create a new experiential dimension through music to accompany each sculpture, while maintaining openness for individual interpretation. The musical inspiration ranges from Straight Ahead, to Modern Jazz, to World Music to Singer Songwriter. Each sculpture (which shares the same name as each track) has a story and that story is told through the music.”

The music was premiered for three nights and six shows in August of 2019 at Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center in New York and the album was officially released on March 23, 2020.

The line-up for this album is:

  • Christian Tamburr – Composer / Vibraphone / Piano
  • Dominick Farinacci – Trumpet
  • Clint Holmes – Vocals
  • Keith Ganz – Guitar
  • Scott Giddens – Piano
  • Billy Thornton – Bass
  • John Davis – Drums
  • Michael Dobson – World and Folly Percussion

The album starts with the title song “The Awakening” inspired by the 72-foot (22 m) statue of a giant embedded in the earth, struggling to free himself. The band plays with incredible energy and a pushing pulse. We hear great solos by vibraphone and trumpet and Clint Holmes on vocals gives this contemporary jazz tune it’s special touch. First song and first highlight on the album.

“Between Appointments” comes next. The sculpture depicts a businessman catching a nap on a park bench, with his face draped by an edition of the New York Times newspaper. A jazz tune in New York cocktail bar jazz style with vibraphone and trumpet playing the melody together. Excellent sound combination. The first heavy swinging solo goes to Christian Tamburr followed by Dominick Farinacci on trumpet.

“A Thought to Consider” brings back Clint Holmes on vocals with a beautiful ballad. The sculpture is based on Manet’s picture ‘Dans la Serre’ and depicts a couple, she sitting on a bench and him leaning over the bench. The interpretation of the picture and the sculpture are not clear if the couple is in distance or in harmony, however the melancholic love song comes in perfect harmony and gives us an answer.

“Crack the Whip” is the next song and the corresponding sculpture shows eight children at play holding hands and running in a semi-circle.  This song is an up-tempo jazz tune where the piano solo by Scott Giddens stands out.

“Erotica Tropicalis” is inspired by Henri Rousseau’s ‘The Dream’. In the painting, a young woman rests on a sofa and contemplates the surrounding jungle, apparently oblivious to the danger by the wild creatures around her. This song comes as an old-fashioned Rumba with a gypsy guitar solo and another outstanding vibraphone solo.

“Hiding in the Light” is based on the sculpture “Stainless Girl”, a stylized nude which was Seward Johnson’s first work. The song comes in singer-songwriter style with Clint Holmes on vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar and soft piano arpeggios.

“Double Check” is based on the sculpture that became famous as the only piece of art to survive 9-11. The song is another up-beat pushing jazz tune with an incredible drumming by John Davis supported by Michael Dobson on percussion. Definitely another highlight on this album.

The sculpture “Day Dream” shows a group of naked women dancing and is inspired by Henri Matisse’s picture “The Dance”. The tune comes with a pushing 3/4 meter and a nice dreamy melody.

“Jazz Dreams” comes next. This song is based on the jazz band sculpture “My Sixteen-Year-Old Jazz Dreams,” a life sized sextet featuring trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The song is a straight blues with the head played by piano, vibraphone and trumpet in unison.

The album closes with “Embracing Peace” inspired by the monumental ‘kiss’ sculpture which honors the moment in New York City on V-J Day, August 14, 1945, when a sailor spontaneously kissed a nurse in the celebration after World War II. The song is a soft ballad and features piano and bass (it is basically a piano trio with a little bit of percussion) and really rounds up this tour through times and places.

Overall an outstanding and inspiring album which Christian Tamburr created. All songs are original composition each with it’s own spirit and flavor. They also have a great underlying visualization which helps to develop a much deeper understanding of this music.

Christian has created an beautiful promotion video where you can hear some of the music and see all the sculptures:

Some more information on the Ground for Sculpture can be found on their website:
https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/

I also have to add here that Seward Johnson died three weeks ago and so this album is already an obituary of him and his work.

More information about Christian Tamburr can be found on his website:
https://www.christiantamburr.com/

And here is the complete album on Spotify: