Finesse – November 2019

Iiro Rantala is a jazz chameleon who loves to appear in many guises. The Finnish pianist invariably springs a surprise with the concepts for his albums, particularly those of his solo piano projects. For "My Finnish Calendar", he has turned a new page: this is improvised music but with an extra-musical narrative: from a very personal and Finnish point of view, he has set to music the passing of a complete year in his home country, and he has done it with his typical mixture of melodic inventiveness, melancholy and humour. His well-known technical finesse and mastery, acquired over the years, have been applied here with an unerring instinct for bringing the essential to the fore.

Italian Death Metal force HIDEOUS DIVINITY will release their fourth full-length album “Simulacrum” on November 8th via Century Media Records. The album will feature ten original songs delivered with jaw-dropping technical finesse, as well as two covers, Machine Head’s “Blood Of The Zodiac” and Mayhem’s classic “Cursed In Eternity”, as bonus tracks on the digipack CD . Recorded, mixed and mastered once again by Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio. The impressive artwork was again created by Vladimir Chebakov who also did the cover for Hideous Divinity’’s last album “Adveniens”. Digipack features 5 more stunning paintings by Vladimir.

"Flamenco and jazz are brothers,” says pianist Daniel García, one of the most exciting voices of the new generation of Spanish jazz. “They have some essential things in common: self-expression, a total engagement at the instant of making music, plus the deep experience of the moment". That is how he sums up what "Travesuras" is all about: Garcia has delved deeply into the music of his homeland and has combined influences from it with the vocabulary of the modern jazz piano trio. What emerges is music which is expressive, stands on its own terms, and in which rhythmic intensity is allied with melodic richness, harmonic finesse and exceptional virtuosity.

Among the unique aspects of Greg Marvin’s style is his sound. Combining the ethereality of early Getz with the gritty mid-range of, say, a Sims, Marvin uses the entire range of his horn with great dramatic and emotive finesse. Also amazing is the superb chemistry achieved by Marvin and his all-star rhythm section of pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Mraz and either Billy Higgins or Mel Lewis on drums.

The instrumental rockers of the early '70s never were any good at dulling down their musical expertise; and, indeed, it's only a matter of seconds into their first live release - Live at the Rainbow - until one realizes just how talented Focus were. Jan Akkerman, named "World's Best Guitarist" by Melody Maker in 1973 ahead of Eric Clapton and others, was amazingly on form in this performance. Thijs Van Leer, chief songwriter and performer in the band, showcased his talents on flute, vocals, and organ with unparalleled finesse. Bert Ruiter knocked out his basslines tight to Pierre Van Der Linden's drums, undoubtedly two of the finest players on their respective instruments. It would be so easy to go off on a tangent explaining the mastery that Focus had musically; suffice to say, however, the bands technical proficiency is rarely matched in the world of rock…