Record Reviews

AL DI MEOLA ~ ACROSS THE UNIVERSE EAR MUSIC 4029759140313 (Barcode: 4029759140313) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is an album by American guitar hero Al Di MeolaFind albums by this artist, his second release paying tribute to the music by The BeatlesFind albums by this artist, following the “All Your LifeFind albums with this title” album from 2013. Di Meola plays several guitars, bass, drums and percussion, which makes this almost a solo album, but there are also some strings and brass arrangements and the Indian tabla player Amit KavthekarFind albums by this artist, Italian accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist and American trumpeter Randy BreckerFind albums by this artist play on selected tracks. The album presents fourteen tracks, all familiar songs composed by The Beatles. The music takes the Pop songs into the Jazz-World Fusion world, which is the turf where Di Meola feels most comfortable, and the virtuosic guitar improvisations and dense arrangements transform the songs into new environment, but leave enough of the original melodies so the listener is able to recognize them without much effort. Personally this album is a bit too busy for me, i.e. too many things are happening all at once, and since The Beatles music has been utterly explored almost to death, the entire enterprise leaves me somewhat cold, but I do appreciate the musicianship and talent involved. Overall, this is a nice display of Di Meola’s abilities, but somewhat hectic and populist as far as I am concerned. But guitar aficionados and Beatles deadheads will love this to bits.

Updated: 02/09/2024Posted: 02/09/2024

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AL DI MEOLA ~ MOROCCO FANTASIA IN-AKUSTIK 9132 (Barcode: 707787913225) ~ USA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2008 Released: 2017 This is a live album by American guitarist / composer / bandleader Al Di MeolaFind albums by this artist, recorded live in Morocco with his World SinfoniaFind albums by this artist ensemble and local guests. The ensemble includes accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Peo AlfonsiFind albums by this artist, bassist Victor MirandaFind albums by this artist, percussionist Gumbi OrtizFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter KaszasFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, seven of which are original compositions by Di Meola and one is by Astor PiazzollaFind albums by this artist. The music is nothing short of sublime, especially with the live ambience, continuing Di Meola’s fascination of World Music, especially the Mediterranean musical cultures. The brilliant amalgam of Flamenco, Spanish, Italian, Eastern European and Arabic elements is completely unique and this period of recordings with the World Sinfonia is definitely the most refined and satisfying in his long and prolific career. Although the local guest musician’s contributions are only marginal, they add to the entire atmosphere of Word unity in music, strengthened by the enthusiastically worm reception by the audience. The concert was also released in video version, for those interested. Overall, this is spectacular illustration of how music can be completely borderless and universal, and how well it can work together regardless of its origin. Di Meola is not only a great virtuoso, but perhaps more importantly a superb integrator of World Cultures, for which he deserves the highest applaud. This album is a must to all Jazz-World Fusion fans.

Updated: 21/03/2024Posted: 21/03/2024

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AL DI MEOLA ~ PURSUIT OF RADICAL RHAPSODY TELARC 32835 (Barcode: 888072328358) ~ USA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is an album by American guitarist / composer / bandleader Al Di MeolaFind albums by this artist, recorded with his World SinfoniaFind albums by this artist ensemble, which includes Italian accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist, French guitarist Kevin SeddikiFind albums by this artist, American percussionist Gumbi OrtizFind albums by this artist, Hungarian drummer Peter KaszasFind albums by this artist and Cuban bassist Victor MirandaFind albums by this artist. The album presents fifteen tracks, thirteen of which are original compositions by the leader, one is a standard and one is a BeatlesFind albums by this artist song. Following his early years dedicated to Jazz-Rock Fusion, Di Meola immersed himself completely in the amalgamation of his amazing virtuosity as a guitarist and his rare melody weaving talent with World Music, creating over the years a brilliant collection of Jazz-World Fusion albums, definitely some of the best specimens of the genre. This album offers a wide spectrum of influences, from his natural strong Latin roots, to European and Middle Eastern Folklore, some Classical and other sources, creating a sizzling, beautifully melodic and rhythmically fascinating music, which is both accessible and highly aesthetic. Over the years Di Meola emerged as one of the most consistent American Jazz and Jazz-World Fusion recording artists, with unparalleled Artistic vision. Overall, this is another masterpiece by a Master musician, who never fails to bless his listeners with his music. Brilliantly recorded with superb musicians, all Masters of their instruments, full of great compositions and diverse selection of Folkloristic sources of influence, this is another instant classic.

Updated: 14/04/2023Posted: 14/04/2023

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TAMARA OBROVAC ~ CANTO AMOROSO ALESSA 1045 (Barcode: 9004501010453) ~ CROATIA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the tenth album by the superb Croatian vocalist / songwriter Tamara ObrovacFind albums by this artist. Recorded with her Transhistria EnsembleFind albums by this artist, which includes Slovenian guitarist Uros RakovecFind albums by this artist, Italian accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist, Slovenian bassist Ziga GolobFind albums by this artist and Croatian drummer Krunoslav LevacicFind albums by this artist, the album presents ten songs composed by Obrovac, who also wrote the lyrics to seven of the songs. She sings in Croatian, except for one of the songs which features lyrics in Armenian. The album was brilliantly recorded at the Artesuono Studio in Udine (Italy) and engineered by Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist. The music is a completely unique amalgam of Ethnic and Jazz influences, mostly from the Mediterranean region, stretching from Spain in the West to Turkey in the East. These heartbreaking love songs are all very intimate, with a superbly arranged accompaniment, which gently emphasizes the dramatic music and emotional vocals. The purely acoustic, delicate and fragile sound, is absolutely ideal, and in spite of its seemingly limited power manages to express and convey the messages with remarkable strength and clarity. Obrovac is in full command of her vocal abilities, using her voice wisely and expressively, with many theatrical tricks of the trade. She is confident and highly professional, able to use the lyrics and vocalese parts effectively and convincingly. On some of the songs she sounds like a Flamenco singer, on others like a Gypsy, yet on others like a French or Italian chansonniere; always at her best, always sensuous and most importantly always superbly musical. This album takes some serious listening in order to penetrate its multilayered complexity, its instrumental virtuosity and its magic atmosphere. For people living in the Mediterranean Cultures this music simply flows within their bloodstream, but others might have to make an effort and open up to grasp it in full. In any case this is an absolutely delightful Jazz-World Fusion recording, which should be able to make many listeners around the world extremely happy. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 23/05/2017Posted: 23/05/2017

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NICOLAS SIMION ~ CLASSIC MEETS JAZZ 7DREAMS ~ ROMANIA ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This double CD album is a document of an ambitious, large scale musical project, which presents seven instrumental pieces for String Orchestra and Jazz ensemble, composed by seven contemporary European composers. The music, recorded live in the Romanian city of Brasov (Transylvania), is performed by the Chamber Strings Orchestra BrasovFind albums by this artist, conducted by Sabin PautzaFind albums by this artist, who also contributed one of the compositions, and a Jazz sextet led by saxophonist / composer Nicolas SimionFind albums by this artist, who contributed another composition. Three of the sextet´s members; pianist Antonis AnissegosFind albums by this artist, guitarist Norbert SchollyFind albums by this artist and bassist Chris DahlgrenFind albums by this artist also contributed one composition each. The remaining two sextet members are accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist and drummer Alan JonesFind albums by this artist. This entire project was a brain-child of Simion and is just one of many different projects combining Jazz and Classical music he was involved with previously. The seven pieces range in length from just over ten minutes to twenty one minutes and are quite different from each other stylistically and tonally. They range from relatively melodic and conventional to quite complex and even Avant-Garde. However, they all have one thing in common, which is the attempt to expand the boundaries of both Classical music and Jazz by incorporating the legacies of both these genres into coherent and innovative forms of expression. Naturally some of these attempts work better than others, but overall the level of the musical substance is truly excellent and this music should be able to capture many followers, provided it can reach wider audiences. Although the Jazz ensemble is an integral part of the music presented here, the overall effect is more closely related to contemporary Classical music than Jazz and therefore will probably be more appealing to listeners who are familiar with Classical music lexis and environment. Of course open-minded Jazz connoisseurs will also be able to discover the gems and delights of this outstanding music. In this day and age, when Culture is gradually losing the battle against a new wave (and form) of barbarism and anti-culture, projects like this one are beacons of hope penetrating the deep dark slowly engulfing us all and should be treasured ever more. Therefore Simion deserves to be praised for pulling this one through and adding one more gem to our Culture. Definitely worth investigating!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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WDR BIG BAND ~ BALKAN JAZZ BIGBAND 1003 (Barcode: 4250459910030) ~ GERMANY ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 2004 Released: 2010 This is an album by the German WDR Big BandFind albums by this artist from Cologne, dedicated to Balkan Jazz motifs. The Big Band is conducted by American pianist / conductor / arranger Bill DobbinsFind albums by this artist. The main guest soloist is Romanian (resident in Germany) saxophonist / composer Nicolas SimionFind albums by this artist. Additional guest instrumentalists include Hungarian violinist Zoltan LantosFind albums by this artist, Italian accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist, French drummer Benjamin HenocqFind albums by this artist and Croatian percussionist Kruno LevacichFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, all original compositions by Simion, arranged by Dobbins. The WDR Big Band is one of several German Big Bands, such as the NDR Big BandFind albums by this artist (from Hamburg) or the HR Big BandFind albums by this artist (from Frankfurt), which function side by side with the regional state broadcasting corporations active in Germany, being decentralized by law and remaining as one of the last bastions of independent publicly sponsored cultural organizations, adding a tremendous input into European Jazz in particular and European Culture in general. The musicians employed by these Big Bands have ideal working conditions and are free from economic struggles, which take a heavy toll on most freelance musicians. Also many projects, like the one documented on this album, would have never happened in a purely unsponsored commercial environment and the existence of these bands is simply a cultural miracle. The music is a brilliant amalgam of the Orchestral / Big Band Jazz and Jazz-World Fusion idioms, which combines the best of the two worlds. Balkan music has been a huge influence on the European Jazz scene over time, and its quirky rhythm patterns and typical melodic melancholy can be found on many on quite a few albums, but a meeting with the Big Band environment is relatively rare, and this is a splendid opportunity to enjoy it to the max. Nicolas Simion is a prolific figure on the European Jazz scene, with an impressive recording legacy to his credit, which covers several sub-genres and offers many international joint projects. His Transylvanian roots are always strongly in his compositions and I am a big fan of his work, as much as his company as a Friend, which go perfectly with my Romanian secret ties ;) Overall, this is a truly delightful piece of music, which can be enjoyed by a wide audience of Jazz listeners. Of course Big Band lovers, especially those of the European Big Band variety, will be completely smitten by the virtuosity of the performances and the depth of the music found on this album.

Updated: 05/10/2024Posted: 05/10/2024

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