Stoa Silmand

Not everyone will love this music. It's not jazz, it doesn't exactly swing, and it may be too in-your-face for those who prefer more delicate realms of introspection. People who hate the minimalisms of Reich and Philip Glass may find Bartsch's compositions repetitive. But anyone who is interested in muscular new sounds that seem both timeless and very contemporary should check it out.

Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Holon (2008) {ECM 2049}
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© 2008 ECM Records | ECM 2049
Jazz / Modern Creative / Mystical Minimalism / Post Minimalism / Piano

Pianist Nik Bärtsch's Zurich quintet Ronin has released a handful of recordings, but Holon is only the second released in the United States. When Stoa was issued in 2006, it was like this startling blast of air. Was it jazz? Was it minimalist classical music? Was it acoustic techno? Bärtsch calls it "zen funk." OK, fair enough, but in actuality, while it bears traces and borrows elements from all of the aforementioned genres, Ronin is its own animal, its own sound, its own complex yet utterly accessible musical identity or, better, brand. They have toured relentlessly all over the world, and as a result, this quintet is not only well seasoned, but also it has taken the music up the ladder a couple of rungs.

"Llyria" is the third album from Nik Bärtsch's Ronin and follows on from 'Stoa' and 'Holon', the ECM recordings that established the exciting young Swiss band on the international scene. Leader and pianist Nik Bärtsch's "modular" pieces still define the context of the group's music but the committed input of the individual Ronin members has lifted the work to the next level, blurring the distinctions between composition, improvisation and interpretation.