DANIEL ERDMAN’S VELVET REVOLUTION - Won't Put No Flag Out
BMC records – BMC CD 282
Daniel Erdman: tenor saxophone; Theo Ceccaldi: violin, viola; Jim Hart: vibraphone, percussion.
Recorded on 6th – 8th January 2019 by Viktor Szabo at BMC Studio, Budapest.
What is so remarkable about this recording is not the highly unusual line-up of instruments, but the fact that you never fully appreciate how unusual the line-up actually is. Listening to these masters of their art and to the superbly structured pieces, there never feels to be anything missing from the playing. You might expect that the absence of an instrument to mark the rhythm could create problems in a jazz-oriented ensemble, but this is not the case – on several occasions, Ceccaldi’s strummed viola provides the bass line for the tune (particularly on the opening ‘Won’t put the flag out’), on other occasions, sax, violin or vibraphone take on the role of sustaining a rhythmic pulse (where it is needed). You might, on the other hand, expect to hear these instruments playing as more of a ‘chamber’ ensemble – which they can to great effect, particularly on track 10 ‘Kauas pilvat karkavaat’. But even in their more chamber-like mode, the music has an insistence and openness that conveys much more of a jazz sensibility than a classical one. For example, Erdmann’s sax playing on ‘Kauas pilvat karkavaat’ sobs with anguish and shifts into a resigned, blues-like moan before being joined by violin to repeat the tune’s theme.
While the liner notes state that the band’s name relates to Erdmann’s political awareness, I was intrigued by the meaning of the title (which the liner notes don’t explain) – perhaps the flag in question is a white one and the band does not wish to surrender, perhaps the flag indicates a specific country and the band wish to avoid the jingoism of overly aggressive patriotism (particularly given the different countries that the band members come from and live in), perhaps the flag indicates commitment to a fixed ideology, or perhaps they want to ensure a peaceful change in the order of things (the second track is, after all, called ‘except the velvet flag’). Whatever the meaning, there is much to admire in the beauty and complexity of the compositions and playing. Of all the pieces, though, it was the trio’s version of ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ that stayed with me the longest – mainly because they took such a familiar tune and gave it various twists and turns that created an off-kilter eeriness that was perfectly in keeping with their approach to music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
BMC records – BMC CD 282
Daniel Erdman: tenor saxophone; Theo Ceccaldi: violin, viola; Jim Hart: vibraphone, percussion.
Recorded on 6th – 8th January 2019 by Viktor Szabo at BMC Studio, Budapest.
What is so remarkable about this recording is not the highly unusual line-up of instruments, but the fact that you never fully appreciate how unusual the line-up actually is. Listening to these masters of their art and to the superbly structured pieces, there never feels to be anything missing from the playing. You might expect that the absence of an instrument to mark the rhythm could create problems in a jazz-oriented ensemble, but this is not the case – on several occasions, Ceccaldi’s strummed viola provides the bass line for the tune (particularly on the opening ‘Won’t put the flag out’), on other occasions, sax, violin or vibraphone take on the role of sustaining a rhythmic pulse (where it is needed). You might, on the other hand, expect to hear these instruments playing as more of a ‘chamber’ ensemble – which they can to great effect, particularly on track 10 ‘Kauas pilvat karkavaat’. But even in their more chamber-like mode, the music has an insistence and openness that conveys much more of a jazz sensibility than a classical one. For example, Erdmann’s sax playing on ‘Kauas pilvat karkavaat’ sobs with anguish and shifts into a resigned, blues-like moan before being joined by violin to repeat the tune’s theme.
While the liner notes state that the band’s name relates to Erdmann’s political awareness, I was intrigued by the meaning of the title (which the liner notes don’t explain) – perhaps the flag in question is a white one and the band does not wish to surrender, perhaps the flag indicates a specific country and the band wish to avoid the jingoism of overly aggressive patriotism (particularly given the different countries that the band members come from and live in), perhaps the flag indicates commitment to a fixed ideology, or perhaps they want to ensure a peaceful change in the order of things (the second track is, after all, called ‘except the velvet flag’). Whatever the meaning, there is much to admire in the beauty and complexity of the compositions and playing. Of all the pieces, though, it was the trio’s version of ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ that stayed with me the longest – mainly because they took such a familiar tune and gave it various twists and turns that created an off-kilter eeriness that was perfectly in keeping with their approach to music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
