Jasper Somsen - Voyage in Time - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Mckay / Williams / Nat'L Sym Orch Of Ukraine - Orchestral Works [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/17/2001

As much as the now popular sentence naming Shostakovich Inchthe Beethoven of the 20th CenturyInch is debatable, nobody can deny an amount of contact points between the two composers above all, the favorite musical mediums and the engagement in historical and political coeval affairs. However, we think that nothing like their Late String Quartets can offer material for a comparative listening and analysis. In both cases we can easily detect what Edward Said defined and discussed as the InchLate StyleInch. And in both cases we are in front of a complex and vibrant dialectic between a process of abstraction and a moral imperative to stick to the Inchhic et nuncInch. Such an intellectual and existential confrontation is fruitfully without solution and offers a never-ending space to insights and interpretations. Here we propose Alma Quartet's outlook first instalment.

Acclaimed Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi is at the zenith of his career and has now joined forces with the legendary French drummer André Ceccarelli and the acrobatic Danish double bass player Thomas Fonnesbæk. This new trio encounter combines three of the very best European jazz stars and makes for an album played with dramatic coherence. Something Tomorrow is available on Storyville Records. Playing with Fonnesbæk seems to give wings to Pieranunzi, the two men listen and talk to each other like two accomplices, who meet again after a long absence. Fonnesbæk enjoys this intuitive game, where they listen intensely to each other, propose another tempo or a new melody. And they can count on the rhythmic precision and great musicality of André Ceccarelli, one of Pieranunzi's favorite drummers. Pieranunzi is one of, if not the most, popular European pianist, likely due to a unique combination of influences, from his formative years in classical and Italian music to his collaborations with iconic film composer Ennio Morricone and output with the likes of Chet Baker and Lee Konitz. Pieranunzi never renounces bold and elegant music, for he is a poet of black and white. In the breath of his piano, there is a reflexive expression, a harmonic treatment full of subtleties. A rich romanticism lies deep at the heart of his music, when he let's his hands dance on the keys. Thomas Fonnesbæk is a formidable bassist with an astonishing technique. He impresses with his virtuosity and harmonic choices, and his bass lines inspire both Pieranunzi and Ceccarelli. Drummer André Ceccarelli is one of the most important figures on the European jazz scene. He has not only played with Pieranunzi in many other musical constellations, but also with giants like Enrico Rava and Chick Corea.