Stefano Cantini | Romano Zuffi - Stress da Brass (ALFA MUSIC November 9, 2018)

Stress da Brass, il terzo Album della collana prodotta da Romano Zuffi per AlfaMusic (Attuttogasss – Attuttallaria –Stress da Brass), vede la collaborazione di moltissimi musicisti di assoluto livello internazionale, tutti uniti da un‘amicizia personale, che si concretizza in un disco ”felice” e senza vincoli di generi o etichette storico musicali. 

Gli arrangiamenti di Stefano Cocco Cantini lasciano spazio alla libertà di esecuzione di tutti, in una sorta di gioco di colori sempre diversi.

Prestigiosa tra gli special guests la partecipazione di Alex Ligertwood (in “Try Another Time”) storica voce solista di Carlos Santana.

I testi sono di Jenifer Jackson.

Il disco è dedicato al grande pittore e scultore Giampaolo Talani (1955-2018) autore di tutti i dipinti che caratterizzano le cover della collana discografica. 

Questo il prestigioso casting di “Stress da Brass”:

Stefano Cocco Cantini sassofoni, piano, piano elettrico, arrangiamenti

Romano Zuffi tastiere, piano, piano elettrico, synth

Ares Tavolazzi basso elettrico - contrabbasso

Alfredo Golino batteria

Giulio Stracciati chitarra elettrica

Francesco Sozzi chitarra elettrica  (traccia 7)

Leonardo Marcucci basso elettrico (traccia 1) / chitarra acustica (traccia 2)

Andrea Lagi tromba, flicorno

Giulia Bernardini viola

Valentina Garofoli violino, violoncello

Special guests:

Alex Ligertwood Voce solista in “Try Another Time”

Giulia Fasolino Voce solista in  “On my own”

Jole Canelli Voce solista in  “Drifting”

Alice Bertoncini, Valentina Toni, Gianni Nepi cori

1. Try another time

2. Se sfebbrasse (starebbe meglio)

3. Stress da Brass

4. On my own

5. Strepto “Cocco”

6. Brasserie

7. Quasi Luglio

8. Stiamo calmi

9. Drifting

Prodotto da Romano Zuffi per AlfaMusic Label&Publishing

Produzione artistica Stefano Cantini

Dipinto di copertina Giampaolo Talani

Coorinamento di produzione Fabrizio Salvatore (AlfaMusic)

Beppe Scardino - BS10 Live in Pisa (AUAND RECORDS November 9, 2018)

Expansion and unusual combinations in a nutshell

Beppe Scardino’s BS10 out in November on Auand Records

In his new album Italian sax player and composer leads a 10 piece ensemble

Italian sax player and composer Beppe Scardino aims at recapping his career in his new album “BS10 - Live in Pisa” – in doing so, he mobilizes many colleagues to expand the soundscape as much as possible. Out in November on Auand Records, this challenging live recording is a summary of his artistic path, Scardino says: «I was looking for a summary of what I experienced over the years, ranging from rock to jazz. At the same time, I aimed at creating a contrast between acoustic and electric/electronic. The opportunity to have six brass instruments was exciting. I was ready to write extensively, while finding enough room for each musician: putting the collective improvisation first, and having solos for everyone.»

A generous dose of writing couldn’t be enough: a key element of the album is the inspiration and technique of such colleagues as Dan Kinzelman (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Piero Bittolo Bon (alto sax, bass clarinet), Mirko Cisilino (trumpet), Mirco Rubegni (trumpet), Glauco Benedetti (tuba), Gabrio Baldacci (guitar), Simone Graziano (Fender Rhodes, synth), Gabriele Evangelista (double bass) e Daniele Paoletti (drums, electric drums, effects), besides baritone sax and bass clarinet played by Beppe Scardino himself, who composed the entire track list. All the ensemble needed was a good chance which came with Francesco Mariotti (Pisa Jazz Festival) – he believed in the project and supported it, having their show in Pisa recorded live in 2017.

The result is an extremely varied music: orchestra-like parts and wall of sounds, swing moments and tributes to both music and sports masters. And even when the sound becomes dense and thick, it’s still far from free. «I wrote some compositions for this band, and added some previously unreleased material from the last couple years. Even if it might sound otherwise, every track has a guideline, a core idea to improvise around: it could be chord changes, riffs or even one note – it’s the case of the D flat, the lowest note for a baritone sax, that lies underneath “Tre”.»

The opening track “Agosto14” highlights the chromatic range of the 10 piece ensemble, followed by the easygoing “One For KD” and what could be considered the darkest track in the album, “Tre”.

«There are unusual instrument combinations that I’ve been longing to experiment for years: generally speaking, an electroacoustic/electronic rhythm section as opposed to a large brass section. And also two trumpets plus tuba, or the three bass clarinets, or even electronic drums and brass. I pretended I was writing for sci-fi movies (who didn’t?) and I think this can be heard. But I’m also quite proud of how another track turned out: it’s dedicated to the NBA player Kevin Durant. I imagined him dribbling among his opponents, and thought about the rhythm created by the basketball bouncing on the floor.

It’s fast and quite tricky, possibly the most difficult track to play – we had a tough nut to crack!» In the end, he adds, «like it or not, I’m happy this music represents me.»

Come quando si spargono tutti gli appunti sul tavolo prima di tirare le somme di un lavoro intenso, Beppe Scardino ha rovesciato nel suo nuovo disco “BS10 - Live in Pisa” gli elementi importanti di questi anni di carriera, circondandosi di un alto numero di fidati colleghi che gli permettesse di estendere al massimo lo spazio sonoro a disposizione. Il nuovo album, in uscita a novembre per Auand Records, è un progetto ambizioso, perché attraverso l’espansione il sassofonista punta in realtà a una sintesi, come spiega lui stesso: «Cercavo una sintesi di quello che mi è passato addosso negli anni, dal rock al jazz. Ma anche un’antitesi tra acustico ed elettrico/elettronico. Mi esaltava l’idea delle possibilità di sei fiati. Volevo scrivere molto, dando comunque spazio ai musicisti: privilegiare i momenti di improvvisazione collettiva e lasciare anche momenti solistici per tutti». 

Per un’impresa come questa non avrebbe potuto essere sufficiente una generosa dose di scrittura: occorrevano anche tutto l’estro e la tecnica di colleghi come Dan Kinzelmann (sax tenore, clarinetto basso), Piero Bittolo Bon (sax alto, clarinetto basso), Mirko Cisilino (tromba), Mirco Rubegni (tromba), Glauco Benedetti (tuba), Gabrio Baldacci (chitarra), Simone Graziano (Fender Rhodes, synth), Gabriele Evangelista (contrabbasso) e Daniele Paoletti (batteria e batteria elettronica, effetti), oltre ovviamente al sax baritono e al clarinetto basso di Beppe Scardino, che ha firmato tutte le composizioni. Mancava solo un’occasione, arrivata grazie a Francesco Mariotti di Pisa Jazz, che ha creduto nel progetto e offerto il suo sostegno per la realizzazione dell’album, registrato dal vivo durante il festival toscano nel 2017. 

Il risultato è una pasta sonora estremamente varia: parti quasi orchestrali e muri di suono, scatti rumoristici e momenti swinganti, tributi ideali a giganti musicali e sportivi, ma sempre con una linea guida: anche quando il magma sonoro si fa più denso, rimane comunque distante dal free. «Ho composto alcuni brani appositamente per questo gruppo, altri erano brani inediti degli ultimi due o tre anni. Anche se potrebbe non sembrare – aggiunge Scardino – tutti i pezzi hanno una traccia, un’idea su cui improvvisare: ci sono giri armonici, riff, o anche solo una nota (per esempio il re bemolle, la nota più bassa del sax baritono, che giace per tutta la durata di “Tre”). ».

Lo spettro cromatico del tentetto viene fuori già ampiamente nella traccia di apertura, “Agosto14”, passa per la scanzonata “One For KD” e attraversa “Tre”, forse il brano più dark del progetto. «Ci sono alcune combinazioni strumentali che volevo da tempo provare: in generale una sezione ritmica elettroacustica/elettronica contrapposta a un’ampia sezione fiati.

Ma anche la doppia tromba e la tuba, i tre clarinetti bassi insieme, e ancora la batteria elettronica e i fiati. In molte parti ho immaginato di scrivere musica per un film di fantascienza (chi non lo ha fatto, del resto?), e penso che questa ispirazione si senta. Sono molto fiero di un brano meno sci-fi che ho dedicato al giocatore NBA Kevin Durant: me lo sono figurato mentre palleggia tra gli avversari e ho pensato a una musica al ritmo del pallone da basket che rimbalza sul parquet.

Non poteva che essere un brano veloce e non poco arzigogolato: il brano più difficile, ci ha dato non poche gatte da pelare». E se il tentetto ha accettato questa e le altre sfide del progetto, più in generale, conclude Scardino, «sono contento del fatto che questa musica, piaccia o no, mi rappresenti».

Beppe Scardino baritone sax, bass clarinet

Dan Kinzelman tenor sax, bass clarinet

Piero Bittolo Bon alto sax, bass clarinet

Mirko Cisilino trumpet

Mirco Rubegni trumpet

Glauco Benedetti tuba

Gabrio Baldacci guitar

Simone Graziano fender rhodes, synth

Gabriele Evangelista double bass

Daniele Paoletti drums, electronics

01 Agosto 14

02 One For KD

03 1001

04 Verticamera

05 Tre

06 Patchouli

07 Giant Steps GS II

Produced by Beppe Scardino for Pisa Jazz

Executive Producer: Marco Valente

Recorded at Teatro Sant’Andrea, Pisa – Italy

Engineer: Aldo de Sanctis

Cover Photo: Piero Bittolo Bon

Zach Deputy Kicks Off Fall 2018 Tour!

This fall, soulful and innovative multi-instrumentalist and singer Zach Deputy will hit the ground running on a 18 city east coast US tour! Concertgoers can look forward to a unique live music experience. Zach plays a different set every night as an ultimate expression of living in the moment, with the hopes of opening windows to people's souls to remind them of how good it feels to be alive.

On his path towards becoming a successful touring musician, Deputy serendipitously landed a solo gig in his early 20s by walking into a bar just after that night’s featured artist had bailed. Deputy soon introduced the world to the sound he’d eventually dub “island-infused, drum ‘n’ bass, gospel-ninja-soul.” By 2008 he’d released his debut album Out of the Water and—thanks to his ingenuity in looping—made his name as an unforgettable one-man-band live act. The new music kept flowing, and since then Deputy has released four critically acclaimed full length studio albums. As a special sneak peek into his new music, Zach will sprinkle songs from his upcoming album throughout his sets this fall. 

Reflecting on his live shows, Zach says “music to me is about bringing people together from all walks of life and living in the moment with a joyful heart!” Deputy's one man show creates a unique experience straight from the soul every night, raw and uncut with absolutely nothing prerecorded. As a pioneer of looping and synth guitar work well ahead of his time, he's taken the technology to uncharted lands delivering a pocket groove unique to the ears.

Zach says, “call me crazy, but I've always believed live music should always be live, but I've also always loved a good tranced out dance party too.” With this in mind he tailored his performances to meet his convictions. Combining his family roots Island vibe with his low country southern soul, a pinch of tranced out hippy hop, and a vast amount of talent, Zach’s sound emerges in focus.

Select shows will feature Zach’s vibrant band The Yankees, a bluesy jam band who will be supporting Deputy with keys, Drums, Bass, and a whole lot of soul. Alongside Deputy on tour, supporting acts will include powerhouse musicians Audacity Brass Band, Afterfunk & Sarah Blacker, the Trailheads, and Mike Pinto.

This fall Zach Deputy will hit the road and perform live across the east coast of the United States. Audiences can expect a soulful night of joy and to shake their hips! You can catch Zach on tour in a city near you! Tour dates are below.

Tour Dates:

Nov 9 - Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill - Roanoke, VA

Nov 10 - Reeves Theater - Elkin, NC

Nov 13 - Funk 'n Waffles - Syracuse, NY

Nov 15 - Higher Ground - Burlington, VT

Nov 16 - Aura - Portland, ME

Nov 17 - Toad's Place - New Haven, CT

Nov 18 - Brooklyn Bowl - Brooklyn, NY

Nov 20 - Flour City Station - Rochester, NY

Nov 21 - A Wormtown Thanksgiving @ Palladium Upstairs - Worcester, MA

Nov 23 - The Greenhouse - Saint Simons Island, GA

Dec 1 - Skipper's Smokehouse - Tampa, FL

Dec 5 - Green Parrot - Key West, FL

Dec 6 - SoundBar - Orlando, FL

Dec 7 - 1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville, FL

Dec 8 - Sports Page - Satellite Beach, FL

Dec 9 - Pirate's Cove Resort & Marina - Stuart, FL

A/B Trio's New Album: Trioliloquy (CHRONOGRAPH RECORDS November 9, 2018)

The award winning A/B Trio is always looking for ways to develop their sound. After the success of Out West featuring Mike Murley, Dan Davis (saxophones), Thomas Bennett (drums) and Josh McHan (bass) began looking for another way to develop their sound together and their skills as musicians.

Enter Kevin Turcotte, a Toronto-based trumpeter with more than one hundred recordings to his name. A multiple Juno winner and eighteen-time Juno nominee, his work with the Barenaked Ladies and Bruce Cockburn as well as Mr. Something Something and even the Sicilian Jazz Project has proven time and time again that he is one of the most versatile and accomplished musicians in the country. Turcotte acts as a catalyst for the musical growth of the members of A/B Trio but this collaboration also aides in the cultural exchange between Alberta musicians and those based out east.

With cheeky word play, thoughtful melodies and rhythmic playing, Trioliloquy is sure to get your heart racing.

With cheeky word play, thoughtful melodies and rhythmic playing, Trioliloquy is sure to get your heart racing.

Roundabout is a funky tune that brings forth visions of 1970’s spies. The title track Trioliloquy is a brash, honest story told with rhythmic intensity by all three members that honors each individual’s voice while maintaining a singular narrative.

Leda’s Song is an intimate conversation between McHan and Davis that makes you feel like you’re witnessing a tender moment between lovers. With a contrasting feel to the rest of the album, Los Plazos Del Patrón which translates to “The Terms of the Employer”, is a politically charged tune with no resolution. When you hear McHan’s sharp breath in the intro to Bluesaholic you can’t help but be taken to a dark blues club and the following conversation among the players is competitive and informative.

The album will be released on November 9 through Chronograph

Dan Davis

Josh McHan

Thom Bennett

+

Special guest: Kevin Turcotte

1. Lenny’s Beat 7:13

2. How Suite It Is 7:55

3. Roundabout 7:29

4. Trioliloquy 5:47

5. Leda’s Song 5:41

6. Los Plazos Del Patrón 5:19

7. Bluesaholic 6:42

8. Secondary Opinion 7:09

email: abtrio@abtrio.com

Abstract Orchestra - Madvillain Vol. 1 (ATA RECORDS November 2018)

Led by Saxophonist Rob Mitchell, Abstract Orchestra have been a consistent presence on the u.k. music scene, touring constantly in promotion of their debut LP “Dilla” and follow up 45 “New Day feat. Illa J”, steadily building a loyal and supportive fanbase. Inspired by the legendary live performances of The Roots with Jay-Z and the 40 piece orchestral arrangements by Miguel-Atwood Ferguson of the work of J Dilla, classic arranging techniques underpin modern loop-based structures, breathing new life into familiar material. 

The band itself is based on the classic jazz big band instrumentation of saxes, trumpets and trombones and features the cream of the north of England’s jazz scene who collectively have played with Jamiroquai, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, John Legend & the Roots, Roots Manuva and Amy Winehouse. 

“Madvillain Vol. 1” takes the template of their debut LP “Dilla” and applies the same approach to the collaboration of MF Doom and Madlib, aka MADVILLAIN and their albums MADVILLAINY and MADVILLAIN 2. Sampling the likes of Sun Ra, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder gave the albums a jazz oriented feel and ethos which in turn lend themselves perfectly to the deconstruction and re-imagining of Abstract Orchestra. As with their debut, all the tracks were recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs. 

Abstract Orchestra’s MADVILLAIN Vol 1. explores the jazz, TV soundtrack and film score aspect of the original work, combining it with classic big band writing and a focus on improvisation. There is a strong influence of Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin and David Shire (Composer of the soundtrack to The Taking of Pelham 123) on the album, and the arranger Rob Mitchell crafts his own sound that inhabits the space between Madlib’s production and Quincy Jones’ writing. Bandleader and arranger Rob Mitchell says of the record: “‘MADVILLAINY’ is a jazz album as much as it is a hip-hop album and I wanted to explore this reciprocal territory there has always been between jazz and hip-hop. 70’s cop show soundtracks have always captured my interest and imagination, and I discovered so much amazing music through TV themes, Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin in particular.

They explored sounds that were menacing, angular, dissonant, frantic and yet captivating. They were also able to write music that was the flip side of all that dark chaos, and write lush and beautiful music. Arranging and scoring up MADVILLAIN Vol 1. Has allowed me to explore these sounds that I’ve always loved, yet keeping a strong hip-hop identity as the core of its sound.” 

1. Accordion 03:14

2. Curls 03:12

3. ALL CAPS 04:35

4. Bistro 02:25

5. Fancy Clown (free) 02:35

6. Raid 03:37

7. MADMIX 1 06:44

8. Great Day 04:23

9. MADMIX 2 08:37

Thought Gang (Angelo Baladamenti / David Lynch - Thought Gang (SACRED BONES RECORDS November 2018)

By the time Twin Peaks’ second season had aired and Fire Walk With Me had just began principle production, Thought Gang had been born. The esoteric jazz side­ project of David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti evolved from the seeds of Twin Peaks’ trademark slow cool jazz and blossomed into more experimental pastures: horizonless vistas of acid­-soaked free­jazz, laced with spoken word narratives and sprawling noisescapes. Fire Walk With Me’s soundtrack would ultimately showcase two preliminary tracks (‘A Real Indication’ and ‘The Black Dog Runs at Night’) from a full­length album that wouldn’t see release for the next two and a half decades. 

Between May of 1992, and continuing throughout 1993, the bulk of the remaining material for the album was recorded in pieces...dove­tailed into a string of contracted sessions for other Lynch­/Badalamenti projects. The defining elements that would birth Thought Gang into a fully­-formed concept and eventually an entire album, however, happened during the 1991 session for ’A Real Indication.’As the oft­-told story goes, Lynch and Badalamenti had just finished recording the initial instrumental take for ‘A Real Indication.’ A set of lyrics had been penned, leaving Lynch with the question: who would he get to sing them? Eager to prove and deliver, Badalamenti suggested that he himself give it an attempt, much to Lynch’s uncertainty that he’d actually be the right fit. “I’d heard Angelo sing before...he used to sing on demos and things...I knew what Angelo sounded like and I thought he was going to embarrass himself...I thought there’s no way this was gonna work.” 

Much to Lynch’s surprise, Badalamenti launched into the song with his distinctive talk­-sing delivery, summoning such a violent laughter­-fueled excitement from Lynch that he literally induced a hernia. “It was like a lightbulb exploded in my gut,” Lynch recalls. “Angelo was feeling it. He was feeling it...we hit the button and he just took off!” A giant lightbulb simultaneously went off in Lynch’s head, and it was perhaps the precise moment Thought Gang splintered off into an entity separate from all prior collaborations the two had had up until then. Weeks later, Lynch was thrust into principle photography of Fire Walk With Me, carrying through the production the very same herniated stomach. 

Recordings for Thought Gang continued throughout 1992 and 1993, spontaneously happening during a run of sessions for an assortment of other projects. During a September 1992 recording date for Lynch’s HBO miniseries Hotel Room, ’Logic & Common Sense’ was recorded. “We would book a session for something, and then go off and do other things [toward the end],” Lynch recalls. “Once the players were in the room, we’d make hay while the sun shined.” Each player involved was a unique wealth of talent that enabled the improvisational approach to the recordings to flourish. Improvisation had always been an important tool in Lynch’s repertoire, and an early title for ‘Logic & Common Sense’ (originally entitled ’Headless Chicken’) reveals the original directive the musicians were given in order to elicit the performance.

Bassist Reggie Hamilton remembers distinctly how Lynch set the tone of the improvisation, recalling thebrief but descriptive sentence: “Imagine you’re a chicken with your head cut off running around with a thousand bennies shoved down your throat!” What followed was a frenetic, amphetamine-­esque musical conversation between seasoned players for exactly 3 minutes 32 seconds before the end of the 2” tape whipped across the Studer’s play head, flopping against the take­-up reel and cutting the recording short. Every inch captured from that performance can be heard on the final record, down to the roll out. 

Similarly, the sprawling ‘Summer Night Noise’ began with a verbal brief outlining the piece’s desired structure: “I would just tell [the guys], it starts out really, really quiet...think summer night: insects, a breeze, grass blowing in the wind...and in the distance a storm is coming...and the storm is getting closer...and closer...and the storm breaks loose and it’s just a violent summer storm with thunder and lightning...and it goes and goes and goes and then calms down and drifts away...and then we’re back to a moist, humid quiet.” “I would tell them a bunch of stuff and then they would play that. It was them catching the thing and painting a picture with their instruments and talent.”In the years following, fragments and working versions of Thought Gang material would make appearances in everything from a Lynch­-helmed Adidas commercial to scenes in Hotel Room, Mulholland Drive, INLAND EMPIRE, deleted scenes from Fire Walk With Me and most expansively utilized in Showtime’s third season of Twin Peaks. 

Both ‘Frank 2000,’ ‘Summer Night Noise’ as well as an alternate instrumental mix of ‘Logic and Common Sense’ would score scenes from season three and aid in defining the show’s distinctly experimental, noise­tilted soundtrack. “It’s sort of like jet-­fueled jazz in a weird way...but it’s all based on stories,” says Lynch. “It’s Modern Music.” Those two words seem to efficiently capture both Thought Gang’s essence and distinctively genre­less genre. Quite often music that finds release beyond its decade of creation experiences a bit of an aural patina resulting from the process of marinating in the ether of time. Perplexingly, Thought Gang retains a contemporary quality difficult to quantify.

“I actually had the name Thought Gang along time before we even recorded anything for it” Lynch casually remarks...and, fittingly, the resulting album somehow still sounds ‘modern’ and will continue to remain ‘modern,’ decades upon decades after is creation.

Huw Warren - Everything We Love and More (November 2018)

One of the UK's most creative composer instrumentalists.... Genre defying pianist and writer,has worked in many areas of music including co founder of perfect houseplants, collaborations with june tabor mark feldman maria pia de vito iain ballamy peter herbert pamela thorby the orlando consort and many others...recent projects and recordings with Erik Truffaz, Maria Pia, Ralph Towner and Ramamani.

1. Habibi

2. Urban 02:20

3. And the Kitchen Sink 05:41

4. Happy as Larry 02:12

5. Sachte 01:53

6. The Art of Hairdressing 03:08

7. Coup de Soleil 03:51

8. Freckle Counting 02:42

9. How about this? 02:27

10. Bass Choir 03:18

11. Kuuru Bizu 02:53

12. Whistling Rufus 04:36

13. Friendly Fire 02:07

14. Both Levels 03:07

15. Mil Harddach Wyt 04:15

16. Deep End 05:20

Charlotte Hug: SON​-​ICON MUSIC - Orchestra And Choral Works (FUNDACJA SLUCHAJ November 2018)

Son-Icon Music - orchestra and choral works by Charlotte Hug Music notation and conducting form the basis of the classical Western tradition of composition and performance. As early as the 1960s, alternatives to this system were sought again and again – a system which implies a lack of maturity in the individual performer. With her “Son-Icons” Charlotte Hug developed a medium and compositional technique, which integrates the imagination and artistic resources of the individual into a guided whole. These are “sound drawings”, which form the basis of both her “Nachtplasmen” for orchestra and “Inn Cammino” for choir: graphic, often mobile inspirational objects, which can be read precisely as a score, but without constraining the players. On the contrary, the Son-Icons can be turned and reversed, and can be read in reflection, backwards or in retrograde. Son-Icons are reminiscent of a visual transposition of a compositional technique, familiar from the work of Bach and the Second School of Vienna. 

For “Nachtplasmen”, made of graphite drawings, which were quite literally created in the tides of the Irish Atlantic, Charlotte Hug assigned an individual Son-Icon to each player, thereby giving them their own flexible voice, with which they could work collectively on the development and overall sound. Hug directed the first and third parts of “Nachtplasmen” according to the Principles of Conduction initiated by Butch Morris, a language of conduction which was substantially developed by the London Improvisers Orchestra, of which Charlotte Hug was also a member for over ten years. 

In the middle of the “Nachtplasmen” it becomes dark, the conductor pulls back, and the players are alone with the Son-Icon video score, which stretches over them like a canopy. Thrown back on their own senses and resources, the individual is now invited to draw from their imagination and at the same time to steer with the collective sound using hearing and feeling. 

Composed for young players of the international Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra 2011, Hug used the “Nachplasmen” as the starting point of a pathway. This led to a further stage with the choir piece “Inn Camino”, interpreted by the via nova choir of Munich in 2013. “Inn Camino” follows the structure of “Nachtplasmen” with two framing pieces which are directed, and a central piece which is not directed. Just as the players move from a day-time consciousness to a night-time consciousness, the nine singers drift back and forth from an external to an internal focus. For this Hug used the “Interaction Notation” which she developed herself for her intermedia artistic contexts and compositions (based on a pure musical notation system by Larry Ochs). The visual stimuli of the Son-Icons arouse an alert acoustic interaction amongst the players. In this way, the singers take the timing of the piece into their own hands, which adds a further level of individual artistic involvement. 

For her drawings in “Inn Cammino”, Charlotte Hug went from the vastness of the Atlantic back to the source, namely to the origins of the Inn in the Swiss high mountain valley of the Engadin. Colourful tuff stone adds a new dimension to the graphite drawings. Here Hug has created two Son-Icons as a musical basis for every singer: the first drawing suggests the different formations of the inside of the mouth. She thereby invites the singers to be aware of the inside of their bodies as resonating chambers.

The second drawing suggests a spinal form and directs the eye to the system as a whole, in which the individual vocal sounds and the different rhythms become an integral part of one entity. For while the movements of the Atlantic obey an overarching cosmic rhythm, in the mountains Charlotte Hug encountered the polyphony of what she has called “Quellrhythmen”, the individual rhythms and polyrhythms of the mountain streams.

And thus, “Inn Cammino” is characterised musically by the intertwining of many individual vocal sounds and rhythms at the beginning of a pathway, which will open out into the great breathing movement of the tides.

Trevor Watts & RGG - RAFA: Live in Klub Zak Jazz Jantar 2018 (FUNDACJA SLUCHAJ November 2018)

First ever meeting of legendary British saxophone player Trevor Watts and probably greatest Polish piano trio RGG recorded live on Jazz Jantar Festival 2018.

1. RAFA 1 12.08

2. RAFA 2 13.16

3. RAFA 3 17.40

4. RAFA 4 18.19

5. RAFA 5 8.17

Trevor Watts - alto & soprano saxophones

Łukasz Ojdana - piano

Maciej Garbowski - bass

Krzysztof Gradziuk - drums

All music improvised by Trevor Watts / Łukasz Ojdana / Maciej Garbowski / Krzysztof Gradziuk

Recorded live on 15th of March 2018 at Jazz Jantar Festival, Gdańsk

Mixed & Mastered at TOKARNIA Studio by Jan Smoczyński

Special thanks to: Trevor Watts / Łukasz Ojdana / Maciej Garbowski / Krzysztof Gradziuk / Magdalena Renk / Jan Smoczyński

Photo by Krzysztof Gradziuk

Produced by: RGG & Maciej Karłowski

Executive Producer: Maciej Karłowski

Cover Design: Małgorzata Lipińska

Charlotte Hug & Lucas Niggli - Fulguratio (FUNDACJA SLUCHAJ November 2018)

Drum and voice – a more archaic pairing could hardly be imagined. Under this motto, in 2016 the festival “Ad libitum” in Warsaw invited Charlotte Hug and Lucas Niggli as an improvisation duo. Although they live in the same city of Zurich, this was a first for both musicians. The electrified audience was just as overwhelmed by this recent discovery as the duo themselves: if they had known that their meeting would release such an exceptional, electrifying energy, this duo would have been born long before that evening. 

Hug and Niggli have a similar archaic approach to their production of sound – but came to it from quite different directions: Hug is a classically trained viola player and a visual artist. At the same time, she is a composer, performer and voice artist. She integrates the various disciplines into her own intermedia art form. Niggli, one of the most versatile drummers of his generation, operates mainly in the field of free jazz and improvisation. What connects the two musicians is their fascination with freedom in music. On this basis their CD “Fulguratio” was created.

From their contrasting positions, using improvisation and with great compositional awareness, in the sense of Instant Composing, the duo explores the potential of their great range: how close and how far can they be and still communicate with one another and even create sparks? Hug and Niggli allow the extremes of tone and energy in their “instruments” – the fragile and the robust – to collide purposefully and release their charge like a flash of lightning. 

The thunder roll which they attract acquires a life of its own. Thus, variants of this discharge of energy – “Fulguratio: sheet lightning” “Obliqua Fulmina: spider lightning” – and other meteorological phenomena – “Virga: drizzle” “Lacunosus: lacunosus cloud” (cloud cover with holes like a loose honeycomb) have become metaphors of their immaterial and at the same time physical music. Just as purposefully, the Duo allow the extreme tonal opposites to come close together, to touch, to rub, to merge into one another – to the point where percussion and voice are barely recognisable as such and are perceived rather as a hybrid “third sound”. Into this hybrid soundscape, Charlotte Hug also integrates the viola. 

The supposed divide between the archaic elementary power of the voice and drum and the cultivated musical art object, which a viola traditionally embodies, brings the Duo/Trio with its shimmering playfulness almost to the point where they disappear entirely: voice and drum are applied for percussive as well as melodic purposes. Where Hug draws out the most original, most physical sounds from her viola, each exclusive artistic characteristic enters the background in its own right. For the Duo therefore this also means freedom: freedom to navigate with archaic power and stylistic flexibility spontaneously and sensitively through the whole spectrum of sound between tonal extremes and hybrids. 

Fourth Page: Charlie Beresford, Carolyn Hume, Peter Marsh, Paul May - The Forest From Above (LEO RECORDS November 2018)

It's been a long time since the release of the first CD by Fourth Page (CD LR 619 Blind Horizons). Surreal, mystical and hypnotic, the music is like nothing you've heard before. It breathes and pulsates, it is scary and beautiful at the same time, yet it is utterly original. This new album covers a lot of ground from hushed ambience to immersive, trance-like grooves, folkish ballads and restrained bursts of abstract clutter. It is luminous, dark, seductive and edgy. The line-up is still the same: Charlie Beresford - voice and guitar, Carolyn Hume - keyboards, Peter Marsh - bass, Paul May drums.