NEVI - Istanbul Edition
Losen: LOS235-2
Andrei Kondakov: piano; Onur Aymergun: guitar; Tolga Bilgin: trumpet; Ozan Musluoglu: bass; Aleksandr Bozhenko: drums.
Recorded October 2018 by Sinan Sakizli, Can Aykal and Ceylan Akcar at Hayyam Studios, Istanbul
The word ‘nevi’ means variety; seeing a recording from Istanbul with a leader (and drummer) from Russia and an opening track called ‘Africa!’, tells you that this is not a bad title for the set. To my ear, the 6/8 pulse owes a debt to Nigerian hi-life rhythms and the vigorous trumpet solo has its root is South African township music, but the band plays with these tropes in a well that is both respectful of these traditions and clearly working these styles into their own ways of playing (perhaps this explains the exclamation mark). The piece begins with a neatly punctuated staccato phrase on guitar that slips into the jittering rhythm of the tune, which is then developed by piano and trumpet into lines that feel more ‘European’. In a similar manner, ‘Requium for KC’ brings a Latin vibe that the band work in a manner that acknowledges its debt to these roots without straying into a over-statement. Jazz bands have, over the history of the music, wrestled with the tension between the authentic and the original sounds of the music (be they rhythmic or harmonic) and the joy to be found in recreating these sounds. Today, we recognise the particular musical styles ought to be celebrated (and rewarded) in terms of their countries of origin. But this creates a challenge for artists who want to celebrate these different musical styles. And, for me, it is always going to be the young bands who can pick up influences, like magpies gathering up glittering treasures, who will pick up ideas from many places and weave them into their own sounds (rather than appropriating a single style, as so much of the ‘tradition’ seemed to want). There is, in tunes like ‘Hollywood’ (track 5) a clear style of their own that bridges so many traditions that it is not easy to pin down to a specific source and which shows an exciting trajectory for their development.
What is clever about the approach that Nevi take to their music is the way in which they combine inspiration from African and Latin America, with broader traditions of American jazz (I felt that there was a strong source of the music coming from early ‘60s Blue Note records) and then read this music from the perspective of Russia and Israel. Of course, what this pen-picture completely misses is the talent that each of the musicians bring to their instruments (which is hugely impressive) and the synergy that the band have in their playing (which is deeply satisfying). This is one of those sets where everything gels perfectly and where the music that is produced carries with it a timeless vision of jazz as an international music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen: LOS235-2
Andrei Kondakov: piano; Onur Aymergun: guitar; Tolga Bilgin: trumpet; Ozan Musluoglu: bass; Aleksandr Bozhenko: drums.
Recorded October 2018 by Sinan Sakizli, Can Aykal and Ceylan Akcar at Hayyam Studios, Istanbul
The word ‘nevi’ means variety; seeing a recording from Istanbul with a leader (and drummer) from Russia and an opening track called ‘Africa!’, tells you that this is not a bad title for the set. To my ear, the 6/8 pulse owes a debt to Nigerian hi-life rhythms and the vigorous trumpet solo has its root is South African township music, but the band plays with these tropes in a well that is both respectful of these traditions and clearly working these styles into their own ways of playing (perhaps this explains the exclamation mark). The piece begins with a neatly punctuated staccato phrase on guitar that slips into the jittering rhythm of the tune, which is then developed by piano and trumpet into lines that feel more ‘European’. In a similar manner, ‘Requium for KC’ brings a Latin vibe that the band work in a manner that acknowledges its debt to these roots without straying into a over-statement. Jazz bands have, over the history of the music, wrestled with the tension between the authentic and the original sounds of the music (be they rhythmic or harmonic) and the joy to be found in recreating these sounds. Today, we recognise the particular musical styles ought to be celebrated (and rewarded) in terms of their countries of origin. But this creates a challenge for artists who want to celebrate these different musical styles. And, for me, it is always going to be the young bands who can pick up influences, like magpies gathering up glittering treasures, who will pick up ideas from many places and weave them into their own sounds (rather than appropriating a single style, as so much of the ‘tradition’ seemed to want). There is, in tunes like ‘Hollywood’ (track 5) a clear style of their own that bridges so many traditions that it is not easy to pin down to a specific source and which shows an exciting trajectory for their development.
What is clever about the approach that Nevi take to their music is the way in which they combine inspiration from African and Latin America, with broader traditions of American jazz (I felt that there was a strong source of the music coming from early ‘60s Blue Note records) and then read this music from the perspective of Russia and Israel. Of course, what this pen-picture completely misses is the talent that each of the musicians bring to their instruments (which is hugely impressive) and the synergy that the band have in their playing (which is deeply satisfying). This is one of those sets where everything gels perfectly and where the music that is produced carries with it a timeless vision of jazz as an international music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
