Record Reviews

SVELIA ~ TRANSITIONS LOSEN 136 (Barcode: 7090025831362) ~ SWEDEN ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by a young Swedish / Australian ensemble SveliaFind albums by this artist, which comprises of vocalist Casey MoirFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Reuben LewisFind albums by this artist, pianist Luke SweetingFind albums by this artist, bassist Johan MoirFind albums by this artist and drummer Aidan LoweFind albums by this artist. They perform eight original compositions / songs, most of which were composed by Casey Moir, who also wrote most of the lyrics, with the exception of two songs composed by Lewis, one by Johan Moir and one by Sweeting. The music is a surprisingly unusual blend of melodic themes performed in a very free / improvised setting, with a lot of space and breathing space, directed by Casey Moir´s incredible vocal parts and dominated by the complex music she composed. She is one of the very few female vocalist, who tries to continue and keep alive the wonderful vocal Jazz tradition, which was developed decades ago by such wonderful female vocalists as Jeanne LeeFind albums by this artist, Lauren NewtonFind albums by this artist, Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist and a few others, and which has sadly almost no parallels in contemporary Jazz, even on the European scene. Casey Moir uses lyrics and vocalese, theatrical expression and on-the-fly vocal improvisations, which make the hair on the back of the listener´s neck to stand up, not only because she is so bizarre and fabulous, but mostly because she dares. The entire concept of this album and the overall impression it makes is truly amazing. But of course the vocalist is not alone out there and her companions all contribute magnificently to the overall success. Lewis plays some "nasty" trumpet parts, which would make Don Cherry smile, Sweeting delicately adds his free-Baroque ornamentations and the rhythm section, which plays anything but rhythm, completes the sound design by another dimension of freedom. Personally the more improvised the music gets, the better it gets and I don´t even dare to think what these musicians might come up with next; hopefully something even more daring and wonderfully weird than this gem of an album. Overall a stunning debut effort, which deserves praise not only for what it offers, but the sheer audacity and chutzpah, mixed with pure genius, which are so rare these days. Another great release on LosenFind albums on this label Records, which again makes me wonder where do you, Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist, find all these fantastic musicians?

Updated: 22/11/2016Posted: 22/11/2016

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