SAMO SALAMON & NEW FREEQUESTRA - Free Distance, Vol. 2: Poems are Opening (March 2022 Fundacja Słuchaj)

During the first lockdown of the Covid era in spring 2020 my creative fire was still burning. All concerts were cancelled, but I still wanted to play and improvise. That's were the idea for long-distance improvisation came up. I sent emails to some of my friends and other musicians who I admired and hoped that they might be interested in doing such a project.

I'm really happy that some of the best improvisers in Europe were happy to participate in this project. I'm such a fan of all these players, they are monster improvisers, composers and bandleaders on their own as well. All tracks are completely improvised or could be even described as structured improvisation. Musicians sent me their tracks, based on an initial improvisation by myself. Then I cut, mixed and blended the music to actually make music. It was an incredibly fun project and challenge!

The title of the album and all the compositions are based on two poems by the great US poet E.E. Cummings, since poetry is my other artistic love and obsession.

1. 1.1. all in green 05:40

2. 1.2. went my love rifing 08:52

3. 1.3. on a great horse of love 04:18

4. 1.4. into the silver down 05:32

5. 1.5. for lean hounds 05:46

6. 1.6. crowched low 08:06

7. 1.7 and smiling 05:08

8. 1.8. the merry deer 04:04

9. 1.9. run before 06:12

10. 1.10. fleeter be they than dappled dreams 04:32

11. 2.1 roasetree 04:06

12. 2.2 you're the song to see 07:16

13. 2.3. whose all 09:18

14. 2.4 you're the sight to sing 03:34

15. 2.5. poems are opening 06:30

16. 2.6. as if 05:20

17. 2.7 and earth was playing 08:26

18. 2.8. at birthday 09:02

19. 2.9. each 04:04

20. 2.10. a whish no bigger 06:04

NEW FREEQUESTRA (Italy / Portugal / Slovenia / Spain / Sweden / Switzerland):

Emanuele Marsico – trumpet (CD 1 - 6,7,9; CD 2 – 5,7,8)

Alberto Mandarini - trumpet (CD 1 - 6,9; CD 2 – 5,8)

Mirko Cisilino – trumpet (CD 1 - 9; CD 2 - 3)

Luis Vicente – trumpet (CD 1 - 1,7,8,10; CD 2 – 1,6,7)

Emanuele Parrini – violin (CD 1 - 2,4,6,8; CD 2 – 5,6,8,9)

Marco Colonna – baritone and sopranino sax (CD 1 - 2,4,6; CD 2 – 3,4,5,7,8,10)

Achille Succi – alto sax and bass clarinet (CD 1 - 2,4,6,7,8; CD 2 – 2-10)

Albert Cirera – sax (CD 1 - 4,5,6,8; CD 2 – 7,8,9)

Fredrik Ljungkvist – sax (CD 1 - 4,6; CD 2 – 6,8)

Christoph Irniger – sax (CD 1 - 4,8)

Alberto Pinton – sax (CD 1 - 1; CD 2 - 4)

Beppe Scardino – sax (CD 1 - 2; CD 2 – 2,4,7)

Martin Küchen – sax (CD 1 - 3)

Samo Salamon – guitar (CD 1 - 3,4,6; CD 2 – 2,4,7,8,9)

Marcelo dos Reis – guitar (CD 1 - 1,7,8; CD 2 – 1,6)

Silvia Bolognesi – bass (CD 1 - 2,5; CD 2 - 2)

Vasco Trilla – drums (CD 1 - 4,6; CD 2 – 5,8)

All music improvised by the Freequestra. Mixed and mastered by Samo Salamon.

Liner Notes: Samo Salamon

Photo by Janin Vezonik

Graphic Design: Piotr Biegański

Executive producer: Maciej Karłowski

PRE-ORDER

Samo Salamon, Cene Resnik & Urban Kušar - Takt Ars Sessions Vol. 3 (February 2022)

1. Free I 17:16

2. Free II 10:02

3. Free III 08:16

4. Free IV 09:02

5. Free V 17:08

6. Free VI 06:02

Recorded on 5 February 2022 in Maribor as part of the Takt Ars Sessions.

Cene Resnik - tenor sax

Samo Salamon - guitar

Urban Kušar - drums

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Samo Salamon - Dolphyology: Complete Eric Dolphy for Solo Guitar (January 10, 2022)

Besides Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy has probably been one of my biggest influences as well as reasons in the beginning why I wanted to play jazz and improvised music. Although Dolphy belongs to the jazz greats, in a way he is still such an underrated improviser and especially composer – having composed beautiful compositions throughout his fairly short career.

The idea of the project began by practicing at home alone during the many Covid lockdowns, rediscovering Dolphy’s music again. Furthermore, I was inspired to do this album by Miles Okazaki’s great solo guitar Monk project. We had a long talk this year via Skype and it was so great to hear how he approached Monk on solo guitar. In the same manner, I have tried to approach Dolphy, but in my own way. First I transcribed all the compositions by Dolphy and arranged them for solo guitar, trying out different techniques. In the end, I improvised on tunes – sometimes free improvisation and in other cases following the harmonic structure. I have played Dolphy's tunes throughout my musical career, improvising on them, but rarely in a solo setting; probably because of fear or respect. But now I was like, OK, let's do it: I told myself I should not be afraid to play single lines or be burdened by the great solo guitar musical heritage, which I immensely respect.

I recorded all the music at home with just one microphone in my living room which has beautiful acoustics. All the songs are first takes – therefore, sometimes there is a small glitch or noise in the background, such as my cat meowing in the background.

Hopefully you will enjoy this as much as I have during the creative and recording process!

Samo Salamon

1. Miss Movement 02:52

2. Serene 04:36

3. The Prophet 05:28

4. Miss Ann 03:00

5. Lady E 05:20

6. 17 West 02:30

7. April Fool 02:58

8. Something Sweet, Something Tender 05:00

9. Springtime 05:14

10. Hat and Beard 04:06

11. The Baron 04:12

12. Iron Man 02:32

13. South Street Exit 03:24

14. Inner Flight I 02:24

15. 245 03:54

16. Les 03:14

17. Lotsa Potsa 03:32

18. Straight Up and Down 04:44

19. Burning Spear 03:10

20. G.W. 04:02

21. Strength with Unity 03:42

22. Out to Lunch 03:06

23. Mandrake 03:34

24. Far Cry 02:14

25. In the Blues 03:02

26. Red Planet 03:50

27. Gazzelloni 02:56

28. Inner Flight II 03:02

Samo Šalamon – 6-string acoustic guitar, except mandoline on 14 (CD 1) and 12-string acoustic guitar on 6, 8, 11 (CD 1) and 5, 7 (CD 2)

All compositions by Eric Dolphy, solo guitar arrangements by Samo Salamon.

Recorded in April 2021 in Maribor.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Samo Salamon.

Cover and design by Kristijan Robič.

PRE ORDER

Samo Salamon, Cene Resnik & Kristijan Krajnčan - Takt Ars Sessions: Vol. 2 (December 2021)

1. Free I 24:48

2. Free II 27:08

3. Free III 10:52

4. Free IV 13:50

Cene Resnik - tenor sax

Samo Salamon - guitar

Kristijan Krajnčan - drums

Recorded on 11 December 2021 in Maribor as part of the Takt Ars Sessions.

Mixed and mastered by Samo Šalamon.

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Samo Salamon / Cene Resnik / Bojan Krhlanko - Timelessness (October 11, 2021)

Slovenian jazz guitarist and composer, recording artist for Clean Feed Records, Not Two Records, Fresh Sound New Talent, who has recorded 30 CDs with players such as Howard Levy, Paul McCandless, John Hollenbeck, Mark Turner, Michel Godard, Drew Gress, Tony Malaby, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey, Tim Berne, Donny McCaslin, Dave Binney, Josh Roseman, Gerald Cleaver, John Hebert, Julian Arguelles, etc. 

1. Calm 04:04

2. The Applauding Wind 02:56

3. Let You Stay 03:56

4. Open 04:24

5. Tiny Paws 04:06

6. Without Face 04:46

7. Each Moment Is a Place 06:42

8. Away Mad 05:20

9. Blurp 04:02

10. We, Humans 05:04

11. Timelessness 06:54

12. Close 03:16

Cene Resnik – tenor sax

Samo Salamon – electric guitar

Bojan Krhlanko – drums

All tunes by Samo Salamon, except 10 by Cene Resnik and 4 and 12 by Samo Salamon, Cene Resnik and Bojan Krhlanko

Recorded in April 2021. Mixed and mastered by Samo Šalamon.

PREORDER

Samo Salamon & Hasse Poulsen - String Dancers (September 1, 2021)

When the first lockdown in March occurred, I was faced with the fact that my creative side wanted to work despite the cancellation of all concerts. I thought of the options and suddenly the idea of long-distance improvisation popped up.

Hasse has been one of my favorite improvisers for years, having played with so many incredible musicians and creating so much great music. I e-mailed him to ask if he would do an improvised album and he said yeah! and let’s also compose, as well as freely improvise... I have been combining complex composition and free improvisation for years, so I loved the idea.

Basically we co-wrote the music... everything was so natural, it seemed as if we had played together for years... it was so easy to improvise with Hasse, such a great player! I’m very happy and privileged that we were able to do this record. Hope to do it live on stage soon!!!!

Samo

And then in the middle of the confinement a mail suddenly turned up from a Slovenian guitarist: ”how about making a few improvisations together?” I looked up who he was, and saw that he played with many great musicians and since I also want to be a great musician, I had to play with him as well. ”How about using compositions?»

He wrote ”great” or something to that extent and five minutes later I sent him a few recent compositions to see how he would respond. Another seven minutes later he sent me some revised versions back along with some of his own compositions and by sunset we had started the recordings.

I am really amazed at the result and at how easy it is to work with Samo. He takes the music one step further, and then another. He makes everything possible.

Hasse

1. Ultra Serieux 02:52

2. Austrian Lake 05:14

3. Coverless 04:18

4. Two Sides of a Mountain 04:32

5. Sometimes a Bird 03:30

6. Free Noses 04:02

7. Soft Grass 05:48

8. String Dancers 05:44

9. Mind Fuel 03:18

10. Cornering 02:52

11. The Scent of Rain 05:30

12. A Word We Heard 04:14

Samo Salamon - 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars

Hasse Poulsen - 6 string acoustic guitar

Recorded in June and July 2020

Mixing and mastering by Samo Salamon

Produced by Hasse Poulsen & Samo Salamon

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Samo Salamon & Friends - Almost Alone Vol. 3 (August 2021)

I'm really happy to present to you the last volume of the trilogy Almost Alone – the third volume of three volumes of a really amazing pan-European guitar project I started in May 2020 during the Corona lockdown.

The project features 36 fantastic jazz guitarists from 35 different European countries - all these musicians are amazing guitarists and composers and I'm really thankful that they contributed their amazing share to the compositions I wrote.

Here are the guitarists featured on Almost Alone Vol. 3:

Susanna Risberg (Sweden)

Maxime Delpierre (France)

Ronny Graupe (Germany)

Francesco Diodati (Italy)

Saso Popovski (North Macedonia)

Mikkel Ploug (Denmark)

Igor Osypov (Ukraine)

Vincent Koning (Holland)

Sandro Zerafa (Malta)

Michal Bugala (Slovakia)

Taulant Mehmeti (Albania)

1. Sing feat. Susanna Risberg 04:12

2. Home feat. Maxime Delpierre 06:54

3. All Mice Gone feat. Ronny Graupe 06:02

4. Surrender feat. Francesco Diodati 04:44

5. Hebe feat. Saso Popovski 06:42

6. The Young Hair feat. Mikkel Ploug 05:38

7. Ode to a Broken Pencil feat. Igor Osypov 06:04

8. Fall Memories feat. Vincent Koning 04:56

9. There's a Gekko in the House feat. Sandro Zerafa 04:22

10. Sunny Days feat. Michal Bugala 06:42

11. Moonless feat. Taulant Mehmeti 06:40

Samo Salamon (Slovenia) - electric and acoustic guitars, mandoline, bass, moog, synths

Susanna Risberg (Sweden) - electric guitar

Maxime Delpierre (France) - electric guitars

Ronny Graupe (Germany) - electric guitars

Francesco Diodati (Italy) - electric and acoustic guitars

Saso Popovski (North Macedonia) - electric guitar

Mikkel Ploug (Denmark) - electric guitar

Igor Osypov (Ukraine) - electric guitars

Vincent Koning (Holland) - electric guitar

Sandro Zerafa (Malta) - electric guitar

Michal Bugala (Slovakia) - electric guitar

Taulant Mehmeti (Albania) - electric guitar

Recorded between May and November 2020.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Samo Šalamon.

All tunes written by Samo Salamon and published by Sazas.

Cover design by Kristijan Robič.

PRE-ORDER

Samo Salamon & Friends - Almost Alone Vol. 2 (2021)

I'm really happy to present to you the album Almost Alone Vol. 2 – the second volume of three volumes of a really amazing new European guitar project I started in May during the Corona lockdown.

The project features 36 fantastic jazz guitarists from 35 different European countries - all these musicians are amazing guitarists and composers and I'm really thankful that they contributed their amazing share to the compositions I wrote.

The first volume of »Almost Alone« came out in October 2020, here is number 2, while the last volume will come out in the summer 2021.

Here are the guitarists featured on Almost Alone Vol. 2:

Ben MacDonald (Scotland)

Elvis Stanić (Croatia)

Greg Lamy (Luxembourg)

Andres Thor (Iceland)

Mikael Mani Asmundsson (Iceland)

Christy Doran (Ireland)

George Dumitriu (Romania)

Mindaugas Stumbras (Lithuania)

Ludmil Krumov (Bulgaria)

Gellert Szabo (Hungary)

David Doruzka (Czech Republic)

Mark Wingfield (England)

1. Remy feat. Ben MacDonald 03:54

2. Looking Forward feat. Elvis Stanić 04:58

3. Yogarhythms feat. Greg Lamy 04:38

4. Barren feat. Andres Thor & Mikael Mani Asmundsson 05:42

5. Little Places feat. Christy Doran 05:28

6. White Herons on Green Meadows feat. George Dumitriu 07:46

7. Almost Almond feat. Mindaugas Stumbras 05:24

8. Dvojka Makedonska feat. Ludmil Krumov 04:08

9. Freeze feat. Gellert Szabo 03:56

10. Animals as Followers feat. David Doruzka 04:24

11. Pyramid feat. Mark Wingfield 05:00

Samo Šalamon – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, moog

Ben MacDonald – electric guitar (1)

Elvis Stanić – electric guitar (2)

Greg Lamy – electric guitar (3)

Andres Thor & Mikael Asmundsson – electric guitars (4)

Christy Doran – electric guitar (5)

George Dumitriu – electric guitar (6)

Mindaugas Stumbras – electric guitar (7)

Ludmil Krumov – electric guitar (8)

Gellert Szabo – electric guitars (9)

David Doruzka – electic guitar (10)

Mark Wingfield – electric guitar (11)

Recorded between May and November 2020.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Samo Šalamon, except track 9 mixed and mastered by Gellert Szabo.

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Samo Salamon & Friends - Almost Alone Vol. 1 (2020)

I'm really happy to present to you the album Almost Alone Vol. 1 – the first volume of three volumes of a really amazing new European guitar project I started in May during the Corona lockdown.

The project features 36 fantastic jazz guitarists from 35 different European countries (below the list) - all these musicians are amazing guitarists and composers and I'm really thankful that they contributed their amazing share to the compositions I wrote.

The three volumes of »Almost Alone« will come out through the following year. Here are the guitarists featured on Almost Alone Vol. 1:

Alex Machacek (Austria)

Rafal Sarnecki (Poland)

Cenk Erdogan (Turkey)

Andre Fernandes (Portugal)

Kalle Kalima (Finland)

Jacob Young (Norway)

Dušan Jevtović (Serbia)

Lorenzo Di Maio (Belgium)

Philipp Schaufelberger (Switzerland)

Spiros Exaras (Greece)

1. Miss Sarcasm feat. Alex Machacek 04:21

2. Nightmare feat. Rafal Sarnecki 07:00

3. Crooswijk feat. Cenk Erdogan 06:06

4. Awkwardly Placed feat. Andre Fernandes 05:12

5. Coalition of the Mistaken feat. Kalle Kalima 05:22

6. Looking Back feat. Jacob Young 09:38

7. Seagulls in Maine feat. Albert Vila 05:56

8. Seven Cats feat. Dusan Jevtovic 05:22

9. Not Too Late, Not Too Soon feat. Lorenzo Di Maio 05:08

10. Monked feat. Philipp Schaufelberger 03:50

11. Northern Wind feat. Spiros Exaras 06:12

Samo Šalamon – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, moog

Alex Machacek – electric and acoustic guitars (1)

Rafal Sarnecki – electric guitars (2)

Cenk Erdogan – fretless guitar (3)

Andre Fernandes – electric guitar (4)

Kalle Kalima – electric guitars (5)

Jacob Young – electric guitar (6)

Albert Vila – electric guitar (7)

Dušan Jevtović – electric guitars (8)

Lorenzo Di Maio – electric guitars (9)

Philipp Schaufelberger – electic guitar (10)

Spiros Exaras – electric and slide guitars (11)

Recorded between May and September 2020.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Samo Šalamon, except track 1 mixed and mastered by Alex Machacek.

All tunes published by Sazas.

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Samo Salamon Trio (feat. Michel Godard & Roberto Dani) - Live Ones: Vol. 2 (2021)

Love this trio... we toured together with Michel and Roberto a loooooooooooot as a trio all around Europe in the period between 2008 - 2012... here is one of such concerts... from somewhere in Switzerland, I believe...

1. Three Stories 08:38

2. Kei's Secret 06:16

3. Catch the Train 12:58

4. Girl With a Nicotine Kiss 05:46

5. Chinese Bath 07:36

6. Miss Sarcasm 08:06

7. Fall Memories 06:32

Samo Salamon - guitar

Michel Godard - tuba, electric bass

Roberto Dani - drums

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Samo Salamon Quartet (feat. Dominique Pifarely, Michel Godard & Dejan Terzić) - Live Ones: Vol. 1

This recording comes from a beautiful European tour in November 2007 with a fantastic European quartet. All these musicians are top of their class. Michel Godard being one of the innovators of modern jazz and improvised tuba, Dominique Pifarely one of the best improvisers on violin and last, but not least, Dejan Terzić on drums, one of my favorite modern jazz drummers.

1. Remy 06:41

2. Tuba Solo 01:42

3. Man of Mystery 08:52

4. Sundays 06:02

5. Moonless 04:07

6. Sunflowers in Her Eyes 06:49

7. Spring Forest 07:20

8. My Rain 02:36

9. Chinese Bath 02:35

Dominique Pifarely - violin

Samo Salamon - guitar

Michel Godard - tuba

Dejan Terzić - drums

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Samo Salamon & Francois Houle - Unobservable Mysteries (February 2021)

Liner notes by Samo Salamon:

During the lockdown period in 2020 due to the Covid-19 virus I started investigating other forms of cooperation with other musicians. One such form was the idea of long-distance improvisation. The first musician to come to my mind was Francois Houle. We have never played together, although we played with many musicians in common. I've been a fan of Francois for a really long time - he has been one of my favorite improvisers and composers ever since I heard his two fantastic albums Cryptology and In the Vernacular. I contacted Francois if he wants to do it and he was really enthusiastic about it… the process was so smooth and seemed like we were actually playing live and with each other since there was such a connection immediately. I first recorded six improvisations on acoustic guitar, and then Francois did his improvisations on me. The second part was that Francois first recorded six improvisations and then I did the improvisations on him… Francois did an amazing job also mixing and mastering the album. Furthermore, we both decided to search for the titles in the poetry of the great US poet Mary Oliver. Oliver’s emotional poetry reflects the current situation and also the situation which the musicians are facing and have to deal with in these times. But out of every bad comes something good. Can't wait to do this live on stages everywhere!!!! Here we come!!! I hope! ;)

1. Secret Pools 04:41

2. Roots and Seeds 04:04

3. Common Sense Mutters 04:38

4. Cradles 04:37

5. Garden of Dust 05:49

6. Island of Shade 06:24

7. Hum and Sway 04:40

8. Jug of Breath 05:37

9. Unobservable Mysteries 04:18

10. The Wanderings of Water 05:33

11. Longing Leaving Staying 03:52

Francois Houle - clarinet

Samo Salamon - 6 and 12-string guitar

Recorded individually by Samo Salamon (Maribor, Slovenia) and François Houle (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Editing, Mixing & Mastering: François Houle December 2020

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Samo Salamon & New Freequestra - Free Distance, Vol. 1: Love is More Thicker (2021)

During the first lockdown in spring 2020 my creative fire was still burning. All concerts were cancelled, but I still wanted to play and improvise. That's were the idea for long-distance improvisation came up.

I'm really happy that some of the best improvisers in Europe were happy to participate in this project. All tracks are completely improvised or could be even described as structured improvisation. So much thanks goes to all the amazing players for their creativity, kindness and amazing playing.

The title of the album and all the compositions are based on a poem by the great US poet E.E. Cummings, while Kristijan Robič contributed beautiful artwork for the design of the album.

1. love is more 04:48

2. thicker than forget 03:48

3. more thinner 09:14

4. than recall 05:18

5. more seldom 05:06

6. than a wave is wet 04:26

7. more frequent 07:48

8. than to fail 04:52

9. it is most mad 06:44

10. and moonly 15:12

NEW FREEQUESTRA (Italy / Portugal / Slovenia / Spain / Sweden / Switzerland):

Emanuele Marsico – trumpet (7,8,9)

Alberto Mandarini - trumpet (1,7,9)

Mirko Cisilino – trumpet (3)

Luis Vicente – trumpet (3,5,8,9)

Emanuele Parrini – violin (3,5,6,9)

Marco Colonna – baritone and sopranino sax (2,3,9)

Achille Succi – alto sax and bass clarinet (2,3,5,6,7,9,10)

Albert Cirera – sax (3,8,9,10)

Fredrik Ljungkvist – sax (7,9)

Christoph Irniger – sax (6,7)

Alberto Pinton – sax (2)

Beppe Scardino – sax (2)

Martin Küchen – sax (10)

Samo Salamon – guitar (4,5,7,9,10)

Marcelo dos Reis – guitar (3,5,9)

Silvia Bolognesi – bass (4,7)

Vasco Trilla – drums (7)

Mixed, mastered and produced by Samo Salamon.

Beautiful artwork by Kristijan Robič.

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Samo Salamon, Tony Malaby & Roberto Dani - Traveling Moving Brething (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

A former student of John Scofield, Samo Salamon was named by the magazine Guitar Player as one of 10 most interesting guitarists of the moment, with All About Jazz stating that this Slovenian is «one of the most talented and interesting to emerge on today’s jazz scene», putting him at the same level of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ben Monder. The Penguin Jazz Guide choose his debut record “Ornethology”, from 2003, as one of the 1001 Best Albums in the history of jazz, and Salamon’s partnerships with such different musicians as David Binney, Sabir Mateen, Dominique Pifarely and Mark Helias say much about his importance on the world circuits. “Travelling Moving Breathing” is a new opus of his Bassless Trio, a project in constant change of contributors, after previous recordings with Tim Berne and Tom Rainey or with Julian Arguelles and John Hollenbeck and only the Italian drummer Roberto Dani staying from line-ups with Paul McCandless, Michel Godard, Achille Succi and others.

Now the third wheel of this band’s dynamics is the American saxophonist Tony Malaby, culminating a good number of adventures together with the Eastern European who possesses «a monstruous technique and an intense desire to navigate multiple jazz related genres» (critic Glenn Astarita dixit) dating from 2004 and from the Samo Salamon Quartet. Salamon couldn’t have better company in Malaby and in Dani (him who already had the best with him) in his commitment to play a improvisationally-driven music capable to keep us on our toes from the first to the last minute.

1 Dephony 6:03

2 Moving Target 6:05

3 Breathing 6:35

4 Grey Matter 9:13

5 Traveling Without Motian 6:15

6 Too Much 4:03

7 Kei's Dream [Explicit] 7:43

8 Arnold 8:05

Pedro is Clean 4:26

Tony Malaby  tenor & soprano saxophone

Samo Šalamon  guitar

Roberto  Dani drums

All compositions by Samo Salamon except for #3 by Salamon/Malaby/Dani

Recorded in Ravne na Koroškem in April 2017 by Domen Hudrap | Mixed and mastered by Samo Salamon

Produced by Samo Salamon | Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul | Design by Travassos | Photos by Nika Hölcl – Fotobeležnica

Samo Salamon & Howard Levy - Peaks of Light (January 23, 2018)

The new duo project of Samo Salamon and Howard Levy presents two fantastic world-class musicians. The guitarist SAMO SALAMON (Slovenia) is one of the most talented jazz guitarists in the world, whose first CD Ornethology was selected among the 1001 best jazz albums in the history of jazz (The Penguin Jazz Guide - The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums). HOWARD LEVY (USA) is definitely the best and most innovative harmonica player in the history of jazz - founding member of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, multiple Grammy Award winner and musician who plays with jazz stars such as Bobby McFerrin, Donald Fagen, Dolly Parton, Paquito D'Rivera, Paul Simon, Rabih Abou-Khalil, etc.

SAMO SALAMON - guitar (SLOVENIA) 

www.samosalamon.com 

Samo Šalamon is »one of the most talented young guitarists and composers on today's jazz scene« (Allmusic.com, USA). So far he has released 22 albums as a leader for recognized labels, such as Clean Feed Records, Fresh Sound New Talent, Steeplechase Records, Not Two Records and Splasch Records as well as played, recorded and toured with recognized jazz stars and musicians, including John Scofield, Howard Levy, Tim Berne, Paul McCandless, Mark Turner, Michel Godard, John Hollenbeck, Drew Gress, Nguyen Le, Tony Malaby, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey, Dave Binney, Josh Roseman, John Hebert, Donny McCaslin, Dominique Pifarely, Gerald Cleaver, Bruno Chevillon, Loren Stillman, John O'Gallagher, Julian Arguelles, Carlo DeRosa, Tyshawn Sorey, Matt Brewer, Alex Machacek, Christian Lillinger, Pascal Niggenkemper, Stefano Battaglia, Manu Codjia, Mikkel Ploug, Luciano Biondini, Jim Mullen, Rudi Mahall, Sabir Mateen, Fareed Haque, Rudy Linka, Paolino Dalla Porta, Ares Tavolazzi, Roberto Dani, Joris Teepe, Bruno Cesselli, Zlatko Kaucic, Salvatore Maiore, Kyle Gregory, Emanuele Cisi, Gianluca Petrella, Dejan Terzic, Wilbert de Joode and others. 

HOWARD LEVY - harmonica (USA) 

www.levyland.com 

Multiple Grammy- Award Winner Howard Levy is an acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist, innovative composer, recording artist, bandleader, teacher, producer, and Chicago area resident. His musical travels have taken him all over the geographical world and the musical map. Equally at home in Jazz, Classical music, Rock, Folk, Latin, and World Music, he brings a fresh lyrical approach to whatever he plays. This has made him a favorite with audiences worldwide, and a recording artist sought after by the likes of Kenny Loggins, Dolly Parton, Paquito D’Rivera, Styx, Donald Fagen, and Paul Simon. As a sideman, Howard has appeared on hundreds of CDs and played on many movie soundtracks. He is perhaps best known for the four CD’s he recorded with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, a unique band that set the musical world on its ear back in the early 1990’s. He got back together with the band in 2010 and recorded the CD Rocket Science. They toured extensively in 2011-2012, and Howard won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition for “Life in Eleven”, which he wrote with Bela Fleck.

1. Devil's Darling 03:02

2. Chaplin Walks 05:50

3. Barren 04:54

4. Sleepy Burja 06:02

5. Our Tune 04:16

6. Riding the Urban Range 06:16

7. Para Para 04:08

8. The Harmonica Suite - Part I 02:46

9. The Harmonica Suite - Part II 03:12

10. The Harmonica Suite - Part III 03:38

11. Freeze 03:42

Recorded in Maribor in May 2017. Recorded by Darko Kukovič - Kuki

Mixed and mastered by Samo Salamon

Howard Levy - harmonica 

Samo Salamon – electric and acoustic guitars 

All tunes by Samo Salamon, except no. 5 by Samo Salamon & Howard Levy and no. 6 by Howard Levy

Samo Salamon / Szilárd Mezei / Achille Succi - Free Sessions Vol. 1: Planets of Kei (NOT TWO RECORDS 2017)

1. Trio I 4.10

2. Duo Achille & Samo 2.46

3. Trio II 4.00

4. Duo Samo & Szilard 4.24

5. Trio III 6.12

6. Trio IV 3.30

7. Trio V 5.32

8. Duo Samo & Szilard II 2.50

9. Trio VI 7.12

10. Duo Achille & Szilard 4.28

11. Trio VII 10.08

12. Trio Suite 13.52

Samo Salamon – acoustic guitar

Szilard Mezei – viola

Achille Succi – bass clarinet, alto sax

All tunes by Salamon, Mezei & Succi, except no. 2 by Succi & Salamon, no. 10 by Succi & Mezei and no. 4 and 8 by Salamon & Mezei.

Recorded in Maribor in September 2016. Recorded and mixed by Darko Kukovič. Mastered by Samo Salamon

Samo Salamon Sextet - The Colours Suite (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2017)

Here is one more live recording of the Ljubljana Jazz Festival, featuring the Slovenian guitarist, and former John Scofield’s student, who is unanimously pointed out as one of the most defying players today in Europe: Samo Salamon. The Sextet is of transnational constitution, putting together the cream of the European scene, namely a British, Julian Arguelles, two Italians, Achille Succi and Roberto Dani, a French-German, Pascal Niggenkemper, and a German, Christian Lillinger. The presence of two drummers was an old Salamon’s aspiration, as it was the desire to have with him, for the first time, an «amazing» (his own adjective) double bassist like Niggenkemper and to continue to work with Succi, who contributed to another album by the composer of “The Colours Suite”, “Ornethology”. Being each one of the participants specially picked for this project, Samo Salamon wrote the suite thinking about the personalities of these musicians. This was the modus operandi of Duke Ellington, and there’s something of that heritage here, namely the combination of complex harmonic and rhythmic motives with open improvisation, the results giving us the «feel of a living organism». In two words: powerful music, not to be missed.

1 Yellow

2 Black

3 Green

4 Red

5 White

6 Brown

7 Blue

8 Grey

Achille Succi  bass clarinet

Julian Arguelles  tenor and soprano sax

Samo Salamon  guitar

Pascal Niggenkemper  bass

Roberto Dani  drums

Christian Lillinger  drums

Samo Salamon Bassless Trio (feat. Julián Argüelles, John Hollenbeck) - Unity (2016)

By EDWARD BLANCO / allaboutjazz

Veteran Slovenian jazz guitarist Samo Salamon has little use for the standards or contemporary traditional jazz music preferring instead, the more creative challenging landscape of today's modern jazz. With his nineteenth album as leader, the young guitarist explores the edges of the genre venturing into uncommon territory once again on Unity, where he continues employing his bass less trio format for the fourth time in his recording career. 

On tap here is Salamon joining forces with two world-class players, renowned drummer John Hollenbeck and tenor saxophonist Julian Arguelles, one of the finest musicians in Europe. Together, this version of his bass less trio performs an unconventional set of music recorded live while on tour throughout Europe in 2014. Featured here are ten dynamic new compositions of the modern jazz type that actually borders slightly on the Avant-garde sound. 

The date begins with the dicey sounds of Hollenbeck's splashy brushes laying down the beats to the dueling sounds of Salmon's guitar and Arguelles's howling tenor on the opening "Asking for a Break." The most ambitious piece of the album is "Kei's Venice" at twelve and a half minutes in length, it is perhaps the most melodic tune of the set. As is the case with a free style type of sound, there is a great deal of improvisation here lending that unanticipated or unexpected quality to the music. 

As is often the case when a trio format is used, each of the players are provided with plenty of solo space with Salamon demonstrating his appreciable chops on the guitar throughout but especially on "Soundgarden," while Hollenbeck delivers a pounding performance and Arguelles is solid on both the tenor and soprano. Samo Salamon's Unity continues the guitarists journey into the sophisticated side of modern jazz with innovative music and excellent musicianship that make this outing worth exploring.

Samo Salamon - guitar

Julian Arguelles - tenor and soprano saxophone

John Hollenbeck - drums

01. Asking for a Break (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 6:52

02. Dawn (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 5:44

03. Kei's Venice (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 12:25

04. Holla Back (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 5:23

05. Soundgarden (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 7:24

06. Moonless (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 6:31

07. Seagulls in Maine (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 6:22

08. Drop the D (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 9:25

09. Pif (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 2:25

10. Kei's Secret (feat. Julian Arguelles, John Hollenbeck) 5:52

BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

JAVI