Record Reviews

FILIP AUGUSTSON ~ VIVA BLACK FOUND YOU 030 (Barcode: 7320470198605) ~ SWEDEN ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by Swedish bassist / composer Filip AugustsonFind albums by this artist recorded in an intimate trio setting with violinist Eva LindalFind albums by this artist and drummer Christopher CantilloFind albums by this artist. It presents ten original compositions, six of which were composed by Augustson and four are collective improvisations by the trio. The music proposes a unique blend of Avant Garde Improvised Music, Jazz and contemporary Classical vistas, very condensed and intimate and obviously created in an ensemble spirit. The element of conversation and mutual exchange is the most important ingredient of this music, executed by the trio which becomes one body while the music plays. Augustson and Lindal share the spotlight by playing lead parts interchangeably, but most of the time it is the entire trio at work, which creates this magical music. Minimalistic and yet highly expressive, the music manages to penetrate the listener´s attention on many different levels. The more lyrical and delicate parts grab the listener with their naked emotionality, while the complex up-tempo ones are about surrendering to the rhythm and letting go of one´s consciousness. This is anything but trivial music and as such requires a lot of investment from the listener: his undivided attention, his emotional involvement and his intellectual powers of analysis and investigation. Such multi layered process of communication with this music probably means that more than one listening session is in order before the state of Nirvana is achieved. But at the end of the proverbial tunnel lays the satisfaction this music is ready to share with the listener. This album is an amazing testimony as to the level of European Jazz (in the most liberal definition of the idiom), which keeps growing everywhere, often far away from the assumed cultural centers. With today´s technology and attitude great music is able to erupt anywhere and anytime, and it is up to us to spot it amongst the oceans of garbage that surround us, threatening to take over thousands of years of development. This is a most impressive debut effort, which was followed up by another great album released a year later on the same label, which means that we can expect to hear more of this extraordinary music again in the future. I am already awaiting it anxiously.

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted: 18/06/2016

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FILIP AUGUSTSON ~ MINSTA GEMENSAMMA NAMNAREN FOUND YOU 032 (Barcode: 7320470198629) ~ SWEDEN ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the second album by Swedish bassist / composer Filip AugustsonFind albums by this artist, recorded with his trio, which also includes violinist Eva LindalFind albums by this artist and drummer Christopher CantilloFind albums by this artist and which was released again on the excellent Swedish label Found You Recordings. It presents eight original compositions, all by Augustson. The intimate acoustic trio setting and unusual instrumentation sets this album immediately apart from most other Jazz / Improvised Music releases. Stylistically it belongs to the chamber Jazz sub-genre, due to a/m characteristics but also due to its apparent likeness to contemporary European Classical music of course. Augustson´s compositions are challenging collages of melodic fragments, shifting tempi and minimalistic symbolism, bringing on instant associations with pieces of mixed media visual art. The whole aesthetics of his music and the way the trio interprets it, has a deeply rooted European approach to Art in general and music in particular, where conventions and traditions are mainly there in order to be broken. Augustson´s "nerdiness", which he refers to half jokingly / half seriously in his comments about this album, is obviously a phantom quality of his character, as anybody writing and playing music like this is anything but nerdy. The trio´s treatment of this music is absolutely stunning, not only because all three musicians are obviously highly talented, but mostly because they become one body while playing the music. Their individual responsibilities, i.e. the melody lines stated by the violin, the harmonic and the rhythmic layer of the bass that cements the music together and the exquisite percussive ornamentations that drive the music forward are all amalgamated into a spiritual unity, which carries the musical message. The melodic minimalism of this music, which is particularly fascinating, is significantly different from what Jazz listeners refer to as the "Scandinavian sound". This music has nothing to do with the lamenting lyricism of the a/m style and proposes a new and fresh avenue to be explored by Scandinavian musicians, who are less interested in achieving instant fame. This new approach allows for infinite more degrees of freedom to be incorporated into the music on one hand and the introduction of a much more complex rhythmic or even poly-rhythmic substance, including fascinating odd signatures and Ethnic rhythmic influences, all of which can be found on this album. Suma summarum this is a fascinating, deeply moving piece of music, which keeps surprising the listener even after repeated listening sessions, completely unique and unconventional in the best possible meaning of the word. It is heartwarming to hear that young musicians are still exploring the boundaries of our beloved music, and thanks to their open-mindedness and talent our dying Culture is still giving the entropy a fight. Hats off!

Updated: 18/06/2016Posted: 30/04/2016

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VIVA BLACK / GRETLI & HEIDI ~ MAL SIRINE KOPASETIC 052 (Barcode: 7320470224397) ~ SWEDEN ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the third album by the Swedish trio Viva BlackFind albums by this artist led by bassist / composer Filip AugustsonFind albums by this artist, which also includes violinist Eva LindalFind albums by this artist and drummer Christopher CantilloFind albums by this artist. On this album they also invited the Swedish duo Gretli & HeidiFind albums by this artist, i.e. Catharina BackmanFind albums by this artist and Carin BlomFind albums by this artist, who play glass harp, glass bells and bowls, bottles and perform vocalese. The album presents eight compositions, three composed by Augustson, three others by Backman, one by Blom and one is by the Swedish drummer / composer Peter DanemoFind albums by this artist. The music is quite consistent with the trio´s output, as documented on their two previous albums: "Viva BlackFind albums with this title" and "Minsta Gemensamma NamnarenFind albums with this title", mixing Jazz, Improvised Music and contemporary Chamber Classical music. On this album the participation of Backman and Blom expand the milieu to include also World Music and Ambient elements. As always, the music is complex and multilayered, requiring a very attentive listening and total involvement from the listener, but the depth of the music and its unique aesthetics are deeply rewarding and fascinating. The innovative approach to music, the sublime dynamics and the constant search for new elements of expression make this music alive and soaring, even if most of the time it is very intimate, subdued and minimalistic. The individual performances are, again as usual, exceptional, with Augustson´s bass driving the music steadily, while Lindal is free to play the themes and improvisations and Cantillo to play around with the pulsations. Backman and Blom add ambient sonic vistas and percussive tones, as well as human voice to the mix, which altogether works wonderfully. More importantly the balance and interplay of the entire quintet is also achieved perfectly, The music of Viva Black is slowly creating a unique niche within the Avant-Garde Jazz – Classical Fusion and the fact that the trio managed to release three consistently excellent albums in a row makes them one of the most interesting phenomena of the sub-genre. One can only hope they will be back soon with some more of their musical magic. Personally I can’t wait to hear more of it!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 30/09/2017

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