Nestao za Šezdeset Sekundi

First, a bit of geography. The island of Hvar is located off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, opposite the city of Split. Fairly narrow (5-11 km in width) and 89 kilometres long, it is renowned for its sunshine – a local hotel tradition offers free bed and board to any visitor who finds himself detained on account of snow or fog –, its limpid waters, some of the clearest in all of Europe, and the warm welcome of its inhabitants. The city of Hvar is the main city, but Stari Grad, owing to its ancient status as the island’s capital, has maintained an important role, perhaps more revealing of local habits and customs.

Vocalist and violinist Alice Zawadzki, pianist Fred Thomas (who also plays the vielle and drums here) and bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado present a rare alchemy on their trio debut, fusing folk idioms from a multitude of sources with free flowing interplay and fluid structures. Inhabiting their own stylistic realm, the trio encompasses folk song, chamber music, improvisation and acoustic jazz, and on Za Górami they present the full span of their reach in a mesmerizing whole. Ladino traditionals are heard alongside striking renditions of Gustavo Santaolalla’s “Suéltate Las Cintas” and Simón Díaz’s “Tonada De Luna Llena”. The title-lending Polish traditional “Za Górami” is performed in a poignant interpretation by Zawadzki and the Renaissance piece “Je Suis Trop Jeunette” finds a kindred spirit in Fred Thomas’s monody-inspired setting of James Joyce’s in “Gentle Lady”. The album was recorded at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.