Dino Saluzzi

Jean-Luc Godard - Nouvelle Vague
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 321 MB | Full Artwork, 284 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: ECM New Series # ECM 1600/01 | Country/Year: Germany 1997
Genre: Jazz, Non-Music, Soundtrack | Style: Dialogue, Spoken Word, Contemporary

Even more extreme is the notion that an entire soundtrack ­ dialogue, music, sound effects ­ might be considered a musical event apart from the film and the venturesome German ECM label has just made this experiment with Jean Luc Godard's 1990 Film Nouvelle Vague. The French art film uses a wide variety of classical and pop music, from Hindemith to Patti Smith and the effect is that of brilliant collage. On the soundtrack disc, sound-effects intrude and modulate into music and voices, like electronic music. Music becomes part of real life, and the music invades the dialogue…

Over a period of five years, Swiss directors Norbert Wiedmer and Peter Guyer documented the activity of legendary producer Manfred Eicher, the founder and driving force behind ECM Records, whose advocacy of progressive jazz and of classical composers like Arvo Pärt, Meredith Monk, Valentin Silvestrov, and György Kurtág changed the landscape of contemporary music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The film Sounds and Silence: Travels with Manfred Eicher was released in 2009 and this 2011 soundtrack album is made up largely of tracks taken from previously released ECM albums that Eicher produced, some from as early as 1980. Most of the pieces are low-key and understated and feature chamber ensembles, although there are several piano tracks and several featuring orchestra or chorus. The album has a mix of selections from ECM's classical and jazz repertoire, and from the label's specialty, the many pieces that lie somewhere in between the two.

A very special album for Giya Kancheli’s 75th birthday. When starting out on his career as a creator of symphonic and chamber music, the Georgian composer also wrote much incidental music for the theatre and the cinema. Though still little-known in the West, the film music was widely heard across the former Soviet Union and the themes here (there are 20 on the album) enjoyed great popularity. ECM decided to invite Dino Saluzzi to revisit Kancheli’s music for stage and screen, in his personal and highly creative way. Simultaneously Gidon Kremer, an old friend and champion of Kancheli’s music, also expressed an interest in doing something special for Giya’s birthday. With both Kremer and Saluzzi on board, the project took on new dimensions.

Myriam Alter - If (2002) {Enja Records ENJ-9451 2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 279 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
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© 2002 Enja Records | ENJ-9451 2
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz

When read as prose, the song titles on If become a poetic tribute to composer Myriam Alter's idealized concept of “Home.” Ten new compositions make up If and are in part inspired by Ms. Alter’s Judeo-Spanish heritage. The arrangements further expand upon her musical lineage by additionally acknowledging modern jazz and classical while prominently featuring Jewish music’s long time relationship with the Argentinean tango. The result is a coherent personal musical statement whose roots run deep and is a breath of fresh air to a world musical realm that at times suffocates in its attempt to be stylish.

Guitarist Al di Meola has been alternating electric and acoustic projects for the past few years. For this acoustic affair, he teams up with Dino Saluzzi on bandoneon to pay tribute to tango master Astor Piazzolla. The music (even a duet version of "Someday My Prince Will Come") has the flavor of Argentina and uses a wide variety of instrumentations, including an occasional string section and the voice of Hernan Romero. It's recommended to lovers of world music, the modern tango, and those who think of di Meola's guitar playing as being one-dimensional and purely based on speed.

From the Green Hill is Tomasz Stanko's ECM follow-up to the deservedly acclaimed Litania - The Music of Kryzsztof Komeda. The Polish composer and trumpeter (and former Komeda sideman) teams up with countrywoman Michelle Makarski, ECM stalwarts saxophonist John Surman, bandoneon king Dino Saluzzi, drum god Jon Christensen, and bassist Anders Jormin. The set is comprised mainly of Stanko originals, but there are also compositions by Surman, and two by Komeda, including "Litania." This chamber jazz sextet draws heavily on European jazz influences naturally, but also from Eastern Europe's folk traditions. In this way, Komeda's influence is clearly felt throughout the recording, even on Surman's "Domino"…