Cru Seu Jorge

At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, all roads led to Paris. The Exposition Universelle drew great crowds, Hemingway and Kandinsky settled there, Proust wrote À la Recherche… and Cocteau La Machine infernale, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes revolutionised dance, and Debussy, Satie and Stravinsky caused scandal. Recording together in duo for the first time, violinist Manon Galy and pianist Jorge González Buajasán capture the flavour of that time of renewal. With this eloquent interpretation of sonatas and other pieces by Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Milhaud, they offer a glimpse of the audacity and modernity that characterised French music during those years.

In its review of pianist Shai Maestro’s ECM leader debut The Dream Thief, All About Jazz spoke of “a searching lyrical atmosphere, emotional eloquence and communal virtuosity that serves the music.” All of which also applies to Human, where Maestro’s outgoing, highly-communicative band with fellow Israeli Ofri Nehemya on drums and Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder becomes a quartet with the inspired addition of US trumpeter Philip Dizack. Shai’s expansive pianism is well-matched by Dizack’s alert, quick-thinking approach to improvising. And, as ever, Maestro is taking the music forward while also respecting its sense of tradition. Near the end of a programme comprised almost entirely of Maestro originals, exploring a range of temperaments, the quartet offers its own take on Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood”, while Shai’s tune “Hank and Charlie” pays tribute to the musical empathy shared by the late Hank Jones and Charlie Haden. Human was recorded at Studios la Buissonne in the South of France in February 2020, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

The French oboist Gabriel Pidoux, voted ‘Instrumental Soloist of the Year’ at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2020, has made a name for himself in both early and modern repertories. He now records his first solo album, accompanied by the pianist Jorge González Buajasan. It presents the works of two female and three male composers, beginning with Robert Schumann’s Three Romances, a masterpiece of chamber music with oboe, which Gabriel Pidoux has decided to juxtapose with the Three Pieces of Leopold Wallner (1847-1913), magnificent works which have never been recorded. Also on the programme is a transcription of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances . ‘These are pieces from the heart, which set the Romantic tone’, writes Gabriel Pidoux.

Jorge Rossy turns to vibraphone and marimba and delivers a trio set filled with momentous originals for his ECM leader-debut. Marked by their immediate melodic appeal, the vibraphonist’s lines are in lively interplay with his colleagues, Robert Landfermann on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. After Jorge’s recent contribution on drums to Jakob Bro’s trio with trumpeter Arve Henriksen on Uma Elmo, the present line-up sees him focusing on his own music. On Puerta the Spaniard shines as he navigates a programme that proves him as much an eloquent composer as a powerful melodic voice.

With Uma Elmo, his fifth album as a leader for ECM, Danish guitarist Jakob Bro presents a new trio featuring Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Spanish drummer Jorge Rossy. Astonishingly, given the trio’s musical synergy, the first time these three musicians ever performed together was for the album’s sessions at the Swiss Radio studio in Lugano, with ECM founder Manfred Eicher producing. Uma Elmo reaffirms the observation about Bro’s work by London Jazz News that “there is no hurry to this music, but there is great depth.” Among the album’s highlights is opener “Reconstructing a Dream,” a darkly lyrical reverie.

Hace más de treinta años que estos dos músicos iniciaron un camino de investigación en aquella formación pionera que fue Dolores, eran los 70 y en este país, mas que ahora la música no lo tenía fácil. Conozco mucho mas la trayectoria de Jorge Pardo, nunca olvidaré una noche de jazz en que Ramón Cardó "Sebo" y él, podían haber "incendiado" un local que ahora son los cines Verdi, dos jóvenes saxos que recordaban lo que debió ser Gillespi y Parquer cuando juntos inventaron el bop. Después todo su trabajo con Paco de lucía y por supuesto toda su obra personal. Tomás San Miguel más centrado en el folk vasco, sus trabajos centrados en la txalaparta vasca, en fin dos mundos intensos. Este es su tercer trabajo juntos y desde el Tango en Ibiza que abre hasta un remix de su Jaleo mezclado con los ingredientes mas Chill del momento es un discazo a tener en cuenta.

When Jorge Bolet died in October 1990 the world lost one of its last ‘great Romantics’. Spirituality, a luxuriant tonal palette, a real sense of architecture, breadth, grandeur, all allied to a prodigious technique – these were just some of the qualities that informed his playing. Now, for the first time, Decca collects all the recordings he made for the label, from 1977 to 1990. Released for the first time and included in this set, is his last recording, a selection of Chopin’s Nocturnes and the Berceuse, recorded just seven months before his death.

When Jorge Bolet died in October 1990 the world lost one of its last ‘great Romantics’. Spirituality, a luxuriant tonal palette, a real sense of architecture, breadth, grandeur, all allied to a prodigious technique – these were just some of the qualities that informed his playing. Now, for the first time, Decca collects all the recordings he made for the label, from 1977 to 1990. Released for the first time and included in this set, is his last recording, a selection of Chopin’s Nocturnes and the Berceuse, recorded just seven months before his death.