NIKOLAS SKORDAS / STEPHANOS CHYTIRIS - Invisible War
SLAMCD 5101
Nikolas Skordas, soprano and tenor saxophones, tárogató and traditional flutes; Stephanos Chytiris, drums
Recorded live at Shellac Studios, Thessaloniki, Greece
You might be tempted to believe, before placing this disc into your player, that you were about to hear solo woodwind with a drummer keeping score. I trust that before the end of the first track you will discover that what you are hearing is two solo instrumentalists playing ‘in ensemble’ – and more: this is very much improvised, free music. Employing the tárogató illustrates that part of the music rooted in folk traditions, while the saxophones expose and explore the roots in jazz and studies in acoustics, form and surface texture or bumpiness. Throughout there are some stunning transitions executed with significant passion.
Both musicians have studied their subjects thoroughly, though in differing ways. Saxophonist Skordas studied jazz soprano at the ‘Athenaeum Conservatoire’ and then classical music and harmony at the ‘Hellenic Conservatory’ in Athens and jazz instrumentation at the ‘Contemporary Conservatory’ of Thessaloniki. He is especially dedicated to exploring and working on new sounds and ideas.
Drummer Chytiris studied aural arts at the Dartington College of Arts in Devon and at the Long Island University, New York. Since then he has been concentrating on project work including recording with saxophonist Daniel Carter and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. His main interests are in avant-garde jazz, contemporary classical music and techno, while maintaining an equilibrium between modernism and tradition in drumming.
Skordas’ tárogató has a strident, aggressive tone and accompanied by the incessant rattle of the backcloth created by Chytiris’ drumming, they sound ‘made for each other’, churning patterns gyrating around each other, each one satisfying an opening left by the other. So, the two do meet, in full empathy and attentive awareness. Free, improvised music indeed.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
SLAMCD 5101
Nikolas Skordas, soprano and tenor saxophones, tárogató and traditional flutes; Stephanos Chytiris, drums
Recorded live at Shellac Studios, Thessaloniki, Greece
You might be tempted to believe, before placing this disc into your player, that you were about to hear solo woodwind with a drummer keeping score. I trust that before the end of the first track you will discover that what you are hearing is two solo instrumentalists playing ‘in ensemble’ – and more: this is very much improvised, free music. Employing the tárogató illustrates that part of the music rooted in folk traditions, while the saxophones expose and explore the roots in jazz and studies in acoustics, form and surface texture or bumpiness. Throughout there are some stunning transitions executed with significant passion.
Both musicians have studied their subjects thoroughly, though in differing ways. Saxophonist Skordas studied jazz soprano at the ‘Athenaeum Conservatoire’ and then classical music and harmony at the ‘Hellenic Conservatory’ in Athens and jazz instrumentation at the ‘Contemporary Conservatory’ of Thessaloniki. He is especially dedicated to exploring and working on new sounds and ideas.
Drummer Chytiris studied aural arts at the Dartington College of Arts in Devon and at the Long Island University, New York. Since then he has been concentrating on project work including recording with saxophonist Daniel Carter and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. His main interests are in avant-garde jazz, contemporary classical music and techno, while maintaining an equilibrium between modernism and tradition in drumming.
Skordas’ tárogató has a strident, aggressive tone and accompanied by the incessant rattle of the backcloth created by Chytiris’ drumming, they sound ‘made for each other’, churning patterns gyrating around each other, each one satisfying an opening left by the other. So, the two do meet, in full empathy and attentive awareness. Free, improvised music indeed.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
