Record Reviews

KARLIS AUZINS ~ ONENESS AND THE TRANSCENDENT TRUTH GOTTA LET IT OUT 43 (Barcode: 5707471064658) ~ LATVIA ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is a solo saxophone album by Latvian Avant-Garde Jazz saxophonist / composer Karlis AuzinsFind albums by this artist, one of the most interesting upcoming European Jazz musicians. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Auzins. Solo albums, especially those in the Avant-Garde idiom, are usually somewhere between extremely trying to absolutely unlistenable. But this masterpiece is something from a completely different frame of reference. Recorded using exclusively "the acoustic sound possibilities of the saxophone", this album offers an amazing kaleidoscope of sounds, which often are hard to believe as originating from saxophone, using the vibrations and natural harmonics of the instrument, as well as its percussive possibilities. There is very little of what is expected as "saxophone playing" per se and most of the music is created unconventionally, using the instrument to produce most unearthly sounds. And yet all this bizarre cascade of sounds makes perfect sense, creating altogether highly emotional and obviously fascinating sonic vistas, which take the instrument into interstellar space. Obviously describing this music, as already demonstrated above, is completely futile. This is way beyond words and all I can say is that this is definitely some of the most exciting, unusual and daring musical ventures I have heard in 2019, and I have heard a lot of albums, and I mean A LOT! Auzins is an Artist to be watched and his output so far is already quite remarkable, so God only knows what he will come up with next. In the meantime grab this piece of magic and your life will not be dull again ;)

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 20/01/2020

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KARLIS AUZINS ~ IMAGES IN REGARD OF THE CENTRAL REFERENCE SYSTEM NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5707471046197) ~ LATVIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Latvian saxophonist / composer Karlis AuzinsFind albums by this artist, recorded with a quartet which also includes Polish pianist Artur TuznikFind albums by this artist, Swedish bassist Joel IllerhagFind albums by this artist and Danish drummer Jakob HoyerFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Auzins. The music is characteristic of the modern contemporary European Jazz, based on folkloristic themes and lyrical melodies, but also allowing a lot of space for improvisation and personal explorations by the quartet members. At times the music moves away from the melodic layer and ventures into Free improvisations, but usually just for relatively limited spans, which allows less experienced listeners to remain in focus and pick up the melody later on. Auzins emerges as a surprisingly mature improviser, who is able to play a solo soprano saxophone piece lasting for almost five minutes without a hitch, with outstanding virtuosity and imagination. But his performances with the quartet are also superb and he manages to create a unique sound, which is extremely rare these days. He also plays some amazing unisono parts with the piano and the bowed bass. Tuznik also plays wonderfully, both as a soloist and accompanist, exchanging intricate notes with Auzins during their many duet statements as well as stretching out during his solos. The rhythm section, which on this album stays mostly in the background, hidden beneath the intensity of the saxophone / piano front line, contributes its valuable parts when allowed to do so and as expected does it admirably. This ability to step aside is most appreciated and does not diminish the status of the rhythm section at all. The music simply organically opens up for a rhythm section contribution whenever those are appropriate. The music definitely belongs to the Scandinavian or rather Baltic tonality, with most of the tunes being low key and low tempo, and contemplation and slow progression are the key ingredients. The fact that the quartet comprises of young musicians from four different countries is the decisive proof that European Jazz is enjoying and incredible renaissance and a new generation of highly talented musicians is emerging, blessed by sublime talents. This is definitely a most impressive debut recording, which emotionally reminds me of the moments in 1960s when Jazz first broke its ties with bebop tradition and moved into a new epoch. Now, five decades later, this beloved music of ours is still making giant steps into the unknown. Hats off, young Lions!

Updated: 17/06/2016Posted: 17/06/2016

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MOUNT MEANDER ~ LIVE IN BERLIN GOTTA LET IT OUT 29 ~ LATVIA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2017 Released: 2019 This is the second album by the international Jazz quartet Mount MeanderFind albums by this artist, which comprises of Latvian saxophonist Karlis AuzinsFind albums by this artist, German pianist Lucas LeidingerFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and German drummer Thomas SauerbornFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions all attributed collectively to the quartet members, which were recorded live in a Berlin Jazz club. The music is a continuation of the formula introduced on the quartet´s debut album, which offers a series of conversations between the musicians based around fragmented melodic themes, but mostly freely improvised. It is however much more coherent and offers a wonderful continuity in comparison to the previous effort, which was somewhat hesitant, obviously marking the early days of this musical adventure. It is a wonderful example of contemporary Improvised Music / Free Jazz at its best. It is minimalist and restrained, completely non-aggressive and highly cooperative, but allows for highly expressive soloing by the individual musicians. All four members of the quartet contribute sublime performances throughout the duration of the album, but it is difficult to ignore the stunning contributions by Auzins, who reaches an emotional apex equal to the great Masters of the genre. His fluidity and inventiveness are absolutely incredible. But the rest of the quartet is definitely up to par with the saxophone magic, each one of them in a different way; Leidinger lays sheets of atmospheric vistas and his delicate touches in the quiet passages are all masterful, Jacobson keeps the pulse of the music steady and gives it an anchor without which it would disintegrate and finally Sauerborn ornaments the rhythmic layer more intuitively than chronometrically. In short this is a magic performance. Overall this is definitely one of the best European Avant-Garde Jazz albums that landed on my desk so far in 2019. It offers a hope and a beacon for Avant-Garde Jazz and Improvised Music, which sadly more often than not tend to fall apart and become more radical and chaotic than need be in an attempt to try and be original. One can only hope that more music of this quality will be made by these young musicians soon. Hats off Gentlemen!

Updated: 28/07/2019Posted: 28/07/2019

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MOUNT MEANDER ~ MOUNT MEANDER CLEAN FEED 375 (Barcode: 5609063003758) ~ LATVIA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by a young European Jazz quartet Mount MeanderFind albums by this artist comprising of musicians from different countries: Latvian saxophonist Karlis AuzinsFind albums by this artist, German pianist Lucas LeidingerFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and German drummer Thomas SauerbornFind albums by this artist, who all studied in Copenhagen, Denmark where their paths converged. Together they perform nine pieces, all attributed collectively to the quartet members and recorded during one recording session. The music offers a solid but fragmented melodic background on occasion, which serves as basis for extended free improvisations. There is a continuous conversation between the quartet members, which helps the music to move forward, although at times it is painfully slow and hesitant. Auzins is taking most of the soloing duty upon his shoulders and his playing is always impressive, similarly to his work on other recordings. Leidinger keeps mostly to the role of accompanist and collaborator. Jacobson plays some very interesting passages, often presented as if on a separate plain from the rest of the quartet. Sauerborn keeps a low key, avoiding rhythmic patterns at all cost but supporting his cohorts with bursts of percussive madness. Overall this music makes sense even though its level of communication with the listeners is very limited. As many Improvised Music creations, this music is a very personal statement with most of its meaningfulness related to the musicians rather than the listeners, which of course is both its blessing and its curse. The most important thing about this album is the fact that young European musicians make albums like this one today, while the majority of their contemporaries are producing loads of brainless excrement. The sheer personal courage to make a statement, regardless of how it will be accepted by others is the essence. Personally I´d love to hear these musicians in a slightly more rigorous setting, since abandoning all rules and regulation so early in life might result at reaching a creative brick wall all too soon. But all things considered, this is a fine debut effort and hopefully more will be heard of these young Jazz heralds in the future.

Updated: 13/09/2016Posted: 13/09/2016

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