TIGRAN HAMASYAN / ARVE HENRIKSEN / EIVIND AARSET / JAN BANG - Atmospheres
ECM 471 4269
Tigran Hamasyan: piano; Arve Henriksen: trumpet; Eivind Aarset: guitar; Jan Bang: live sampling, samples
Recorded June 2014 at Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano
Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan has been one of the most intriguing improvisers in recent years, and his debut for ECM 2015’s “Luys I Luso” with its’ emphasis on the music of Komitas with the Yerevan State Choir and his own piano improvisations was an ambitious success. Despite very detailed compositions, the passion of the music maintained the varied interpretation aspect of early Armenian music. Hamasyan’s second ECM foray, “Atmospheres”, a quartet featuring Arve Henriksen on trumpet, the mind bending guitar textures of Eivind Aarset, and Jan Bang’s samples edify the pianist’s commitment to Armenian music, this time filtering it through a more improvised lens.
The quartet convened at the suggestion of Manfred Eicher who was stimulated by the music he heard during a radio presentation of Hamasyan’s in duo with Bang at Norway’s famed Punkt festival. The present double album is fine example of four musicians creating a greater whole with spontaneous creation, and transcending the roles of their instruments. Eivind Aarset’s complex signal processing gently ushers in “Traces I” working in tandem with Bang’s live sampling, where the two musicians are nearly imperceptible, their soft cloud the perfect accompaniment to the leader’s floating piano. Only towards the end of the piece does Aarset emerge with anything sounding like conventional guitar, his legato tones gracefully paint brighter color amongst a darker landscape. The layers of this album are a particular joy to hear in a good pair of headphones as Bang and Aarset’s pillows of density permeate the sound stage. Arve Henriksen’s trumpet is anything but as he approximates the sound of the reeded duduk, handling Armenian modes with ease, in these ambient journeys. The eerie collectively improvisation of disc 1’s closing “Traces V/Garun a” gradually subsides into placid calm, Bang’s live samples fattening Hamasyan and Henriksen’s notes. The trumpeter’s folkish lines emphasize half valve effects lending a natural blues like quality. The collectively improvised burbling, looping and crashing fury of “Traces VI” is a preview of what’s to come in “Traces VII”, with it’s staccato, spasmodic bursts sculpted through live samples, gradually morphing into minimalist reflection. Through all the dazzling freely improvised displays and interplay, Hamasyan once again shines the spotlight on Komitas compositions, letting the beautiful melodies of “Tsirani Tsar” and the prayerful “Shushiki” sparkle.
“Atmospheres” being recorded in one day, with the entire project being completed in three days is a testament to Tigran Hamasyan’s bold vision with a group of musicians that take exciting risks through the use of extended techniques and technology. Recorded just three months before “Luys I Luso”, the album showcases the pianist’s tremendous scope of capability. One of the year’s strongest releases, and an absolute treat for open minded listeners who view music as a boundary less art form.
Reviewed by C J Shearn
ECM 471 4269
Tigran Hamasyan: piano; Arve Henriksen: trumpet; Eivind Aarset: guitar; Jan Bang: live sampling, samples
Recorded June 2014 at Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano
Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan has been one of the most intriguing improvisers in recent years, and his debut for ECM 2015’s “Luys I Luso” with its’ emphasis on the music of Komitas with the Yerevan State Choir and his own piano improvisations was an ambitious success. Despite very detailed compositions, the passion of the music maintained the varied interpretation aspect of early Armenian music. Hamasyan’s second ECM foray, “Atmospheres”, a quartet featuring Arve Henriksen on trumpet, the mind bending guitar textures of Eivind Aarset, and Jan Bang’s samples edify the pianist’s commitment to Armenian music, this time filtering it through a more improvised lens.
The quartet convened at the suggestion of Manfred Eicher who was stimulated by the music he heard during a radio presentation of Hamasyan’s in duo with Bang at Norway’s famed Punkt festival. The present double album is fine example of four musicians creating a greater whole with spontaneous creation, and transcending the roles of their instruments. Eivind Aarset’s complex signal processing gently ushers in “Traces I” working in tandem with Bang’s live sampling, where the two musicians are nearly imperceptible, their soft cloud the perfect accompaniment to the leader’s floating piano. Only towards the end of the piece does Aarset emerge with anything sounding like conventional guitar, his legato tones gracefully paint brighter color amongst a darker landscape. The layers of this album are a particular joy to hear in a good pair of headphones as Bang and Aarset’s pillows of density permeate the sound stage. Arve Henriksen’s trumpet is anything but as he approximates the sound of the reeded duduk, handling Armenian modes with ease, in these ambient journeys. The eerie collectively improvisation of disc 1’s closing “Traces V/Garun a” gradually subsides into placid calm, Bang’s live samples fattening Hamasyan and Henriksen’s notes. The trumpeter’s folkish lines emphasize half valve effects lending a natural blues like quality. The collectively improvised burbling, looping and crashing fury of “Traces VI” is a preview of what’s to come in “Traces VII”, with it’s staccato, spasmodic bursts sculpted through live samples, gradually morphing into minimalist reflection. Through all the dazzling freely improvised displays and interplay, Hamasyan once again shines the spotlight on Komitas compositions, letting the beautiful melodies of “Tsirani Tsar” and the prayerful “Shushiki” sparkle.
“Atmospheres” being recorded in one day, with the entire project being completed in three days is a testament to Tigran Hamasyan’s bold vision with a group of musicians that take exciting risks through the use of extended techniques and technology. Recorded just three months before “Luys I Luso”, the album showcases the pianist’s tremendous scope of capability. One of the year’s strongest releases, and an absolute treat for open minded listeners who view music as a boundary less art form.
Reviewed by C J Shearn
