REZ ABBASI - Django-Shift
Whirlwind Recordings: WR4762
Rez Abbasi: fretted and fretless guitars; Neil Alexander: organ, electronics, synthesisers; Michael Sarin: drums
Recorded 6th and 7th February 2019 by Michael Marciano and Max Ross at Samurai Studios, Queens, New York
How should a well-respected guitarist of one generation pay homage to well-respected guitarist of an earlier generation? Of course, the fact that Django Reinhardt ploughed his own unique furrow would suggest that the sincerest form of homage might be a well-crafted imitation of his style. Certainly this has been a dominant approach (and informed one of my favourite recordings from last year). But that doesn’t mean that this need be the only approach. It takes a certain degree of chutzpah to pull apart Django’s music as compositions, rather than exercises in guitar playing, and then to rebuild these pieces into one’s own compositions. To do this, you’d need to a very gifted guitarist and a very accomplished composer. And over his 14 album career, this is what Abbasi has been developing, with the additional motivation of blending Western musical traditions (particularly jazz-fusion and contemporary acoustic jazz) with Eastern traditions (particularly Qawwali and Indian Classical music). So, while the opening bars of ‘Diminishing’ capture the syncopation of Django at his jauntiest, the stabbing synthesiser solo on ‘Swing 42’ crashes the house down into prog-rock-fusion before Abbasi skips back in with Django’s phrasing and theme. Across each piece, there is enough of the original composition for the connoisseur of Django’s music to nod along, but far more of this set features Abbasi’s trio working through multiple implications, interpretations and deconstructions that give the tunes a contemporary, vibrant edge. For Abbasi, Django’s music combines a sense of euphoria with a hint of darkness. The selection of compositions (often from the less obvious reaches of the canon) highlight the breadth and richness of the original tunes while also creating a respectful reimagining. One would hope that Django’s first impression of the pieces would be a cartoon-like ‘what the…?’ with his eyes popping out of his head, but that he would quickly ‘get’ what the trio are playing and see Abbasi’s work as a testament and the homage that places Django into new musical settings.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Whirlwind Recordings: WR4762
Rez Abbasi: fretted and fretless guitars; Neil Alexander: organ, electronics, synthesisers; Michael Sarin: drums
Recorded 6th and 7th February 2019 by Michael Marciano and Max Ross at Samurai Studios, Queens, New York
How should a well-respected guitarist of one generation pay homage to well-respected guitarist of an earlier generation? Of course, the fact that Django Reinhardt ploughed his own unique furrow would suggest that the sincerest form of homage might be a well-crafted imitation of his style. Certainly this has been a dominant approach (and informed one of my favourite recordings from last year). But that doesn’t mean that this need be the only approach. It takes a certain degree of chutzpah to pull apart Django’s music as compositions, rather than exercises in guitar playing, and then to rebuild these pieces into one’s own compositions. To do this, you’d need to a very gifted guitarist and a very accomplished composer. And over his 14 album career, this is what Abbasi has been developing, with the additional motivation of blending Western musical traditions (particularly jazz-fusion and contemporary acoustic jazz) with Eastern traditions (particularly Qawwali and Indian Classical music). So, while the opening bars of ‘Diminishing’ capture the syncopation of Django at his jauntiest, the stabbing synthesiser solo on ‘Swing 42’ crashes the house down into prog-rock-fusion before Abbasi skips back in with Django’s phrasing and theme. Across each piece, there is enough of the original composition for the connoisseur of Django’s music to nod along, but far more of this set features Abbasi’s trio working through multiple implications, interpretations and deconstructions that give the tunes a contemporary, vibrant edge. For Abbasi, Django’s music combines a sense of euphoria with a hint of darkness. The selection of compositions (often from the less obvious reaches of the canon) highlight the breadth and richness of the original tunes while also creating a respectful reimagining. One would hope that Django’s first impression of the pieces would be a cartoon-like ‘what the…?’ with his eyes popping out of his head, but that he would quickly ‘get’ what the trio are playing and see Abbasi’s work as a testament and the homage that places Django into new musical settings.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
