Charles Lloyd tenor saxophone, alto flute, tarogato
Jason Moran piano
Reuben Rogers double-bass
Eric Harland drums 

In time for the great saxophonist’s 70th birthday on March 15, a rousing set from a revamped Lloyd Quartet, recorded live in Basel in 2007. New to the party, and in an ECM debut, is pianist Jason Moran, whose percussive attack, with its echoes of Monk and Bud Powell, lights fires. Moran already has a history with drummer Eric Harland, intensifying the rhythmic interaction that lifts Lloyd skyward on uptempo workouts including a blistering account of old favourite “Sweet Georgia Bright”. There are also tender ballads, including the title track, Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodríguez’s “Rabo de Nube” (“tail of a cloud”), a mountaintop meditation with the tarogato (“Ramanujan”), a tribute to Booker Little, and more. CD booklet includes concert photography as well as verse by prizewinning poet Charles Simic which nicely characterizes both the “rural” and “city” aspects of Charles’s sound.

Charles Lloyd Quartet at Jazz Fest Wien 08

After three acclaimed trio albums –“Nothing Ever Was, Anyway”, “Amaryllis”, “Storyteller” – a solo album by the innovative American pianist. “Vignettes” spotlights new developments in Marilyn Crispell’s work. An ‘aesthetics of space, beauty and tenderness’ prevails in her recent work, and the ratio of lyrical free ballads to eruptive playing has changed significantly. Fifteen pieces by Crispell – plus Arve Henriksen’s “Stilleweg” and “Cuida Tu Espíritu” by Jayna Nelson.

Bobo Stenson piano
Anders Jormin double-bass
Jon Faelt drums
 

The reconfigured Bobo Stenson Trio in a performance of characteristically wide arc. Material this time includes original compositions, group improvising and pieces by Peter Eben, Alban Berg, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Silvio Rodriguez. Master pianist Stenson, long term bassist Anders Jormin and alertly responsive young drummer Jon Fält have developed a richly detailed sound-world like nothing else in modern jazz – at once an extension of the jazz piano tradition and, with its windows opening onto classical music and world folklore, a force apart from it.

Third ECM album by resourceful Greek singer Savina Yannatou and the exciting band Primavera en Salonico, recorded in Athens in 2007. The collective sails through traditional songs from Armenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Southern Italy as well as Greece, and adds a 16th century hymn from the Yiddish tradition. Arrangements, primarily by Kostas Vomvolos, find the points that unite the traditions, while Savina locates areas where experimental vocal technique can overlap with the idiosyncrasies of folk singing. A magical recording, with achingly beautiful melodies, and spirited improvising erupting out of the arrangements.

German multi-instrumentalist Stephan Micus (born 1953) with his 18th release for ECM: an eight-part suite, once again combining instruments from many different world regions. Micus’ approach to music-making originates in his extended travels through Asia, South America and Africa since 1972. He has never contented himself with learning the playing techniques of indigenous instruments but always seeks to remove them from their cultural contexts and to compose a new sound world for them. Employing multi-track recording, the opulent choirs and instrumental ensembles on “Snow” are all sung and played by Micus himself. There is an extended and particularly soulful duduk solo accompanied by Bavarian zither, there’s an improvisation on charango, the miniature guitar from the Andes and there is Micus’ own voice intoning songs of nature, wide open spaces and solitude…更多介紹

Ocean - Stephan Micus

在當代空心吉他演奏家當中，Ralph Towner有著非常獨特的地位，1940年生於美國華盛頓，小時候學過鋼琴和小喇叭，在奧瑞岡大學念音樂時修習作曲，後來卻一頭鑽進吉他演奏世界，1963-1968年在維也納修習古典吉他，1968年返回美國紐約並融入當地爵士圈，先加入Paul Winter Consort，與Glen Moore、Paul McCandless、Collin Walcott結緣，後來一起組成Oregon樂團（擔任主要作曲、吉他與鍵盤手）。Paul Winter還特別把自己的十二弦吉他送給Towner，從此十二弦吉他也成為他的招牌樂器。他對音樂的態度一直保持開放精神，不論爵士、古典、民族與現代樂無不涉獵，但最後皆演化成一種寧靜致遠，“Ralph Towner式”的詩般氣質。

今年他出版了在ECM錄製的第21張唱片《Time Line》，也是他個人第5張獨奏專輯，全碟在奧地利山區一家古老修道院內進行錄音，空間所產生的自然殘響也讓他善長的古典與十二弦吉他音色更為溫潤。所收錄的12首曲目看似包羅萬象，作曲的、即興的，還有他對近年定居的意大利音樂隨想，而對爵士樂迷而言，最熟悉的莫過於其中兩首經典曲：《Come Rain or Come Shine》雖然是Harold Arlen寫的曲子，但對Towner而言更多的影響是因為Bill Evans的演繹，尤其是由Bill Evans、Scott La Faro與Paul Motian組成的三重奏一直影響著Towner的音樂概念，加上六零年代中期的巴西音樂浪潮，讓當時專攻古典吉他的Towner在音樂旅程中找到新的動力與靈感，三十年來他持續吸收其中的音樂精髓並轉化、沈澱成自我風格，卓然成家。《My Man’s Gone Now》是另一首Bill Evans曾經演奏的曲子，也是George Gershwin的名曲之一。而對Towner而言，Gershwin的音樂旋律是陰暗的、憂鬱的，也是埋藏他內心中的最早音樂記憶。有人形容Towner手中的吉他就像是棱柱一樣，散發無窮盡的音色與變調，卻在他極端精煉的表現技巧中走向明淨。

Eleni Karaindrou出生於希臘中部Roumeli的Teichio山村，長大後進入Hellenikon Odion音樂學校學習鋼琴與音樂理論，致力於發揚希臘音樂。愛蓮妮長期與電影和劇場合作，尤其她跟希臘著名導演Theo Angelopoulos的合作最為人津津樂道，包含《希臘首部曲：悲傷草原》、揚威坎城的《尤里西斯生命之旅》與《永遠的一天》、「歐洲電影獎」最佳影片的《霧中風景》、《養蜂人》、《鸛鳥躑躅》等，熟悉的旋律將喚醒您對她的認識。山村長大的她，風的聲響、水的奔流、雨敲擊著屋頂、鄰居的歌聲和雪的寂靜，早在進音樂學校之前，就已構成了她的音樂，Eleni的音樂，在精神上的深度和穿透力是驚人的，這些旋律由傷口和對自由的追尋而來，也正是卡蘭德若的音樂視野和靈感。音樂繞隨並呼應了電影本身，獨立來聽，卻又堅持有自己的世界。 

本張雙CD專輯《流離的悲歌》是希臘作曲家伊蓮妮卡蘭德若Eleni Karaindrou在ECM的首張音樂會錄音。這是一張由器樂和人聲所組成的大編制作品---總共由110名樂手演出，包括了管絃樂團、合唱團、傳統樂器樂團、獨奏者、以及作曲家本人的鋼琴演奏，另外再加上傳奇歌手Maria Farantouri的演唱所有的演奏都在家鄉雅典Megaron的聽眾面前演出。這也是Eleni 輝煌的創作生涯中重要的一頁，這張《流離的悲歌》不僅是張"現場演奏專輯"而已，更是卡蘭德若在她自己音樂創作上的重新定位，將她的創作整合成她所說的"情境清唱劇 (scenic cantata)"。  

音樂會演出的架構是從《悲傷草原》的音樂(2003年為安哲羅普洛斯的電影所寫的原創配樂)，以及《特洛伊婦人》的音樂所構成(為K.X. Myris所改編Euripides的古典劇)。這些曲目都是從首次的希臘音樂會中收錄，音樂的雛型由Eleini 最近三十年的創作重整改編而成。音樂的素材取材自電影《悲傷草原》、《永遠的一天》、《尤里西斯生命之旅》、《鸛鳥踟躕》、《養蜂人》、《霧中風景》以及《塞瑟島之旅》(以上都是安哲羅普洛斯導演的電影)，《同志,返鄉快樂》( Lefteris Xanthopoulos所執導)和《羅莎》( Christoforos Christofis所執導)、《愛情的價值》( Tonia Marketaki所執導)和Chekhov 的《海鷗》。 

延伸聆聽：

Charles Lloyd 探索東方音樂其來有自，這次與印度手鼓大師 Zakir Hussain，還有自己的working band 鼓手 Eric Harland，以 Sangam（匯流）三重奏為名所做的音樂會現場錄音。《Sangam》以兩位打擊樂手的節奏韻律驅動，尤其 Hussain 的手鼓超越節拍，而更是音樂的低音與心跳。Lloyd的演奏更是充滿節奏想像力，令人想起巔峰時期的 Sonny Rollins，同時他自然流露如何完好吸收、消化 John Coltrane 影響，並延續提升了那種精神。三位傑出音樂家以各自熟悉的「方言」合奏，仔細聆聽，即時應和，產生內爆張力十足的音樂小宇宙。《Sangam》代表一位音樂生涯長達四十多年的藝術家，仍持續尋找著創造與生命的新角度，想要體會即興音樂的魅力，不要錯過這張專輯。 

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