FLORIAN ARBENZ -& GREG OSBY - Reflections Of The Eternal Line
Inner Circle Music INCM 090CD
Greg Osby (soprano and alto saxophones) Florian Arbenz (drums and percussion)
To really succeed in the highly exposed duo format in jazz not only requires great musical ability, but also total empathy between the players at all times. This American / Swiss pairing have both in abundance and after playing together for over twenty years have produced an absorbing album of seven original pieces. The critically acclaimed saxophonist from St Louis Missouri, Greg Osby attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, featured in Jack DeJohnette's "Special Edition" and has appeared with such luminaries as Jim Hall and Cassandra Wilson. Now based in New York City he has also recorded almost twenty albums under his own name. Drummer, percussionist and composer Florian Arbenz, who has an equal profile in classical music as he does in jazz, is perhaps best known for his work with the highly successful Swiss trio "Vein" alongside his brother Michael on piano and bassist Thomas Lahns. He has also appeared with Kirk Lightsey, Bennie Maupin, the cross genre band "Convergence" and many others as well as being a recipient of the coveted "European Award Of Culture".
The compositions themselves were inspired by the work of the highly regarded artist Stephan Spicher, and recorded at his workshop near Basel. It's a thrilling and intense forty five minutes of listening, dynamic in places, with a palette of ever changing musical colours. The impact is immediate from the first piece, Wooden Lines, with almost hypnotic and mysterious alto overlaying a tour de force of driving drums. These musicians can move from a position of high intensity to the most delicate and lightest of tempos such as the engaging Chant, a piece of great calmness and depth alongside the gentle melodic excursion of Homenaje, both of which feature Greg on soprano, improvising over highly imaginative percussion from Florian. The music throughout offers its challenges but is never inaccessible in any way as the contrasting musical conversations between the two always carry a perfect logic and include excellent use of the important characteristics of time and space. The nine minute Groove Conductor is a case in point with its almost frightening level of volume and intensity at times, plus periods of abstraction that eventually settle into the groove format suggested by the title with powerful but melodic alto to the fore. The moods change constantly as the album progresses, no more so as when the delicate exotic sound of the tuned kalimbas come into play on The Passage Of Light a composition of serene beauty, enhanced by the majestic sound of the soprano that floats across the soundscape, contrasting with the closer Please Stand By which moves from a sombre opening passage to become a really exciting tension builder that swirls around like a crazy dance, before a brief return to calmer waters.
You cannot go wrong with this recording for its creativity, musicianship, compulsive listenability and general wizardry. It really is a work of art!
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
Inner Circle Music INCM 090CD
Greg Osby (soprano and alto saxophones) Florian Arbenz (drums and percussion)
To really succeed in the highly exposed duo format in jazz not only requires great musical ability, but also total empathy between the players at all times. This American / Swiss pairing have both in abundance and after playing together for over twenty years have produced an absorbing album of seven original pieces. The critically acclaimed saxophonist from St Louis Missouri, Greg Osby attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, featured in Jack DeJohnette's "Special Edition" and has appeared with such luminaries as Jim Hall and Cassandra Wilson. Now based in New York City he has also recorded almost twenty albums under his own name. Drummer, percussionist and composer Florian Arbenz, who has an equal profile in classical music as he does in jazz, is perhaps best known for his work with the highly successful Swiss trio "Vein" alongside his brother Michael on piano and bassist Thomas Lahns. He has also appeared with Kirk Lightsey, Bennie Maupin, the cross genre band "Convergence" and many others as well as being a recipient of the coveted "European Award Of Culture".
The compositions themselves were inspired by the work of the highly regarded artist Stephan Spicher, and recorded at his workshop near Basel. It's a thrilling and intense forty five minutes of listening, dynamic in places, with a palette of ever changing musical colours. The impact is immediate from the first piece, Wooden Lines, with almost hypnotic and mysterious alto overlaying a tour de force of driving drums. These musicians can move from a position of high intensity to the most delicate and lightest of tempos such as the engaging Chant, a piece of great calmness and depth alongside the gentle melodic excursion of Homenaje, both of which feature Greg on soprano, improvising over highly imaginative percussion from Florian. The music throughout offers its challenges but is never inaccessible in any way as the contrasting musical conversations between the two always carry a perfect logic and include excellent use of the important characteristics of time and space. The nine minute Groove Conductor is a case in point with its almost frightening level of volume and intensity at times, plus periods of abstraction that eventually settle into the groove format suggested by the title with powerful but melodic alto to the fore. The moods change constantly as the album progresses, no more so as when the delicate exotic sound of the tuned kalimbas come into play on The Passage Of Light a composition of serene beauty, enhanced by the majestic sound of the soprano that floats across the soundscape, contrasting with the closer Please Stand By which moves from a sombre opening passage to become a really exciting tension builder that swirls around like a crazy dance, before a brief return to calmer waters.
You cannot go wrong with this recording for its creativity, musicianship, compulsive listenability and general wizardry. It really is a work of art!
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
