Volume 25 Issue 7 - April 2020

Canada Day Quartet Live
Harris Eisenstadt
Clean Feed CF 533 CD
(cleanfeed-records.com)
!!
Perhaps
an inadvertent
comment
on Canadians’
welcoming nature,
this iteration of
Toronto-born
drummer Harris
Eisenstadt’s Canada
Day band is filled out by American trumpeter
Nate Wooley, British pianist Alexander
Hawkins and French-German bassist Pascal
Niggenkemper. However, the equality
expressed as the four animate Eisenstadt’s
eight compositions in his Poschiavo series
could relate to the harmonious melting
pot-ideology that was a mark of the
pre-Trump US.
Relaxed, but with a powerful, though
understated rhythmic pulse, the tracks often
feature hand-muted plunger expositions or
open-horn clarion rasps by Wooley, a band
member since it began in 2009. These are
propelled in double counterpoint with the
swift shading and lightly voiced textures by
Hawkins, with whom the drummer plays in
other bands. Leisurely or accelerated percussion
ruffs, rolls and raps encourage this interaction.
Meanwhile Poschiavo Four-Voice 4 is
the one time Niggenkemper moves upfront
with creaking sul tasto extensions and later
col legno recoils which usher in moderato
keyboard animation and a final lyrical
brass blend.
Still, it’s the extended Poschiavo 36 that
is most outstanding. As Wooley’s insentient
bestial yaps sourced from trumpet innards
dominate the exposition, double-bass stops
and expressive piano patterning subsequently
lighten the narrative. The climax exposes a
melodic groove seconded by drum backbeats
and expressed by the trumpeter in warm
heraldic tones.
For followers of expressive improvised
music this live disc should be as welcome as
Canada’s July 1 holiday.
Ken Waxman
POT POURRI
Kora Flamenca
Zal Sissokho
Analekta AN 2 9171 (analekta.com)
!!
Zal Sissokho is
a griot, continuing
the grand oral
traditions of his
Mandinka people of
Senegal in Montreal
where he settled
in 1999. His long
clan lineage and
deep improvisation skills are on full display
when he plays the 21-string kora and sings in
Malinke and Wolof as a solo performer and
collaborator with numerous bands.
Ever since he heard flamenco performed
live in Seville, Sissokho dreamt of combining
Andalusian music and the Mandinka culture
of his native West Africa. Kora Flamenca –
a musical collaboration with composer and
virtuosa flamenco guitarist Caroline Planté
– is the result. The album’s ensemble also
includes percussionist Miguel Medina, firstcall
Montreal oudist Mohamed Masmoudi and
bassist Jean Félix Mailloux. Sissokho explains,
“I sought to expand the limits of my instrument,
the kora, as far as possible. Inspired
by soaring improvisational flamenco riffs, I
tried to create a hybrid style… [To me] musical
inspiration begins with respect for the instrument’s
tradition, history and sounds. Then…
I sought to… push my collaborators to create
music in which composition, technical
prowess and improvisation unite…”
Musically and stylistically, kora and
flamenco guitar are worlds apart. Linked
by their common plucked string heritage
however, Sissokho and Planté find ample
common musical ground on which to hang
flights of melodic fancy. Characterized by
fast tempi, pop-forward arrangements, brief
modal improvisations and Sissokho’s vocals,
this set of ten concise songs makes a convincing
case for combining kora and flamenco.
Andrew Timar
Levantine Rhapsody
Didem Başar
Analekta AN 2 9172 (analekta.com)
!!
Didem Başar
is a professionally
trained player of the
kanun, or Turkish
zither. On this CD,
she unites Turkish
and Western classical
music under
her own compositions,
scoring them for kanun and Western
instruments played by Guy Pelletier (flutes),
Brigitte Dajczer (violin), Noémy Braun (cello)
and Patrick Graham (percussion). Başar
works with the Centre des Musiciens du
Monde, which enables such cross-cultural
experiences to happen.
Başar’s initial composition Devr-i
Raksan will immediately remind visitors
to Turkey of that country’s rich musical
heritage; listen to its thoughtful kanun solo
sections as they build up to a climax of plaintive
string playing, a lively flute part and
vigorous drumming. Often, the compositions
are short; Bird Song lasts just 2:26, but I
challenge anyone to find so many variations
on percussion instruments to create as many
bird sounds as there are on this single track!
On one occasion, Başar dips into classical
Turkish music. She states that
Kantemiroğlu’s Rast Peşrev still has the
power to inspire even though that composer
died almost 300 years ago; complex playing
by all the instrumentalists contributes to an
arrangement unfamiliar to Western ears.
Başar offers Cry as a plea for all those
suffering the consequences of deadly
conflicts. The endless wanderings of refugees
are echoed in the flute part as it intermingles
with the kanun to represent pain and
sorrow. Riddle is her other intensely personal
composition. Short but intense and loud
phrases on the kanun and cello are intended
to represent contrasting feelings: is life itself
not a riddle?
And Canada is not forgotten. 5 à 7 is “happy
hour” in Quebec. What with the five- and
seven-beat textures of Başar’s composition
of that name, it is just the right time to invite
guests round to enjoy traditional Turkish
cuisine to the backdrop that is Levantine
Rhapsody.
Michael Schwartz
Traces
Jessica Deutsch and Ozere
Independent (jessicadeutsch.com)
! ! The music of
Jessica Deutsch
on Traces may not
appear to require
a virtuosic, highflying
performance
on the violin but
make no mistake;
it is diabolically
difficult to play. There is great demand for
atmospheric playing complete with subtle
innuendo, dynamics and colour. Deutsch has
this in spades and brings all of it to the repertoire
on the album.
Each of the works – exquisite miniatures
borne aloft by her lonesome violin, supported
by mandolin or guitar, glued together by cello
and contrabass, with occasional keyboards
and voices – is laden with intimacy and an
emotional intensity that can only be described
as the poetry of feeling. Deutsch’s performance
throughout is lightly perfumed and evocative,
especially in the slower songs, where her sensitivity
shows best. The ephemeral Traces and
The Bones of Clouds, with its wispy imagery
not unlike the early poetry of Elizabeth Bishop,
are superb examples of her playing.
Deutsch creates a perfect blend of delicacy
and muscularity. Her ingenuity enables her
to combine phrasing and touch with subtle
shifts of emphasis that refashions phrases
in an unexpected but utterly convincing
manner. Her playing throughout, combined
with cello and bass is highly redolent of the
rustle of expensive raw silk. The rest of the
group is completely harmonically and rhythmically
entwined with Deutsch’s artistry.
Their performances are altogether remarkable,
possessing sinewy vigour and dynamism
which contributes to putting a unique stamp
on this music.
Raul da Gama
thewholenote.com April 2020 | 65