Ari Meislel

Einar Englund is one of the greatest composers–besides Jean Sibelius–the 20th century has produced. Englund's range of work, especially as seen in his symphonies, has evolved enormously since the end of the Second World War. His later symphonies–the ones on this disc–show the introduction of modern elements into his orchestral pieces. This is evident in Symphony No. 3 (1971) with its mild atonality–the same kind Shostakovich used–that never quite lets go of its Finnish roots, again, like Shostakovich. The Symphony No. 7 (1988) is a stark work about as far from Sibelius as you can get. Recommended highly.

Iconic tribal-trance drummer, composer and recording artist Byron Metcalf makes his Wayfarer Records premiere with a collaborative effort entitled "Rituals of Passion” co-led by award-winning virtuoso violinist Ari Urban. Passionate, evocative, and trance-inducing, Rituals of Passion is unlike anything you’ve ever heard and features guest performances by internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Dashmesh.
Created over four days, the foundation of Rituals of Passion was born from a unique blend of meditation and improvising to truly capture the spirit of the moment. Basic percussion grooves and keys were laid down as foundations by Byron so that Ari’s stunning capacity for channeling could be optimized to create amazingly mystical and intuitive moments with her violin and viola…

Iconic tribal-trance drummer, composer and recording artist Byron Metcalf makes his Wayfarer Records premiere with a collaborative effort entitled "Rituals of Passion” co-led by award-winning virtuoso violinist Ari Urban. Passionate, evocative, and trance-inducing, Rituals of Passion is unlike anything you’ve ever heard and features guest performances by internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Dashmesh.
Created over four days, the foundation of Rituals of Passion was born from a unique blend of meditation and improvising to truly capture the spirit of the moment. Basic percussion grooves and keys were laid down as foundations by Byron so that Ari’s stunning capacity for channeling could be optimized to create amazingly mystical and intuitive moments with her violin and viola…

Returning anew to the original record it's fascinating to re-discover how provocative Pink Floyd's classic remains, and to hear how well this quartet's collective interplay served that music. And how beautifully Sam Yahel's organ-while not the dominant voice, surely a prominent presence-sets the aesthetic tone for these proceedings: nothing rushed or forced or extravagant…elegant and swinging and exploratory, never stepping on anyone's toes-deceptively laid back and responsive, always listening intently, with plenty of rhythmic vitality…a sensibility he shares with collaborators Mike Moreno, Ari Hoenig and Seamus Blake, which goes a long ways towards explaining why their take on Pink Floyd's music is so engaging and stands up so well to repeated listenings.

It was a sign of the times. Concerts and tours were canceled and like everyone I was forced to reassess. I used some of that new found free time to go back and listen to some song sketches that almost made it to the printed page: songs that were not yet tried out by a group, possibly because of some sort of interruption in the composing process.