Ancient Myths by Aliéksey Vianna Quartet

Aliéksey Vianna Quartet

Ancient Myths

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: TCB The Montreux Jazz Label
UPC: 0725095370028
Catnr: TCB 37002
Release date: 06 May 2022
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Label
TCB The Montreux Jazz Label

UPC
0725095370028

Catalogue number
TCB 37002

Release date
06 May 2022

"... Great improvisations and the excellent playing technique of the leader do not let this album out of the hand."

jazzfun, 21-5-2022

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

The division that punctuated music in the 20th century and demarcated its classical and popular sides began to dissolve in the last quarter of the century. This gradual and natural event gave rise to the birth of the current musicians of the 21st century. Musical improvisation, a practice introduced by jazz musicians, was a key point in this transformation. More recently it has become part of the training program for musicians who have careers linked to classical music. This new musician is more open-minded compared to musicians of the past and is generally curious and interested in different styles of music.

The intent of this brief introduction is to clarify and situate the musical aesthetics of this CD by the Aliéksey Vianna Quartet. The selected composers fit perfectly the description of the new musicians. Almost all of them have something in common, starting with their musical instrument, the classical guitar, and they all move freely between the intricacies of music labeled as classical, jazz and popular. The Aliéksey Vianna Quartet brings together an excellent group of instrumentalists, all with individual careers and extensive experience in instrumental ensembles. Through the nine tracks of this album, each of them has the opportunity to shine, demonstrating versatility and creativity

Die Trennung, die die Musik im 20. Jahrhundert kennzeichnete und ihre klassischen und populären Seiten voneinander abgrenzte, begann sich im letzten Viertel des Jahrhunderts aufzulösen. Dieses allmähliche und natürliche Ereignis führte zur Entstehung der heutigen Musiker des 21. Jahrhunderts. Die musikalische Improvisation, die von den Jazzmusikern eingeführt wurde, war ein entscheidender Punkt in diesem Wandel. In jüngerer Zeit ist sie Teil der Ausbildung von Musikern geworden, die eine Karriere in der klassischen Musik anstreben. Dieser neue Musiker ist im Vergleich zu den Musikern der Vergangenheit aufgeschlossener und im Allgemeinen neugierig und interessiert an verschiedenen Musikstilen.

Mit dieser kurzen Einführung soll die musikalische Ästhetik dieser CD des Aliéksey Vianna Quartetts verdeutlicht und eingeordnet werden. Die ausgewählten Komponisten passen perfekt auf die Beschreibung der neuen Musiker. Fast alle haben etwas gemeinsam, angefangen bei ihrem Musikinstrument, der klassischen Gitarre, und sie alle bewegen sich frei zwischen den Feinheiten der Musik, die als Klassik, Jazz und Pop bezeichnet wird. Das Aliéksey Vianna Quartett vereint eine exzellente Gruppe von Instrumentalisten, die alle über individuelle Karrieren und umfangreiche Erfahrungen in Instrumentalensembles verfügen. In den neun Stücken dieses Albums hat jeder von ihnen die Gelegenheit, zu glänzen und seine Vielseitigkeit und Kreativität unter Beweis zu stellen.

Artist(s)

Aliéksey Vianna (guitar)

Aliéksey Vianna Quartet

The Aliéksey Vianna Trio was formed in Basel in 2009. It emerged naturally from collaborations of the Brazilian guitarist Aliéksey Vianna and the Swiss bassist Stephan Kurmann with a few different drummers. Upon an invitation by the great Peter Schmidlin, in 2014 the trio (then with Mauro Martins on drums) released their album “in concert at the bird’s eye” (TCB 33402). Since then, it has appeared in festivals and clubs all over Switzerland, France, Germany and Brazil. Over the years, the trio also performed with a few guest soloists, such as Nat Su and Viviane de Farias. In October of 2020 (this time already with Jorge Rossy on vibraphone and drums), Gabriele Mirabassi was also their guest for two concerts....

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Stephan Kurmann (bass)

Jorge Rossy (drums)

Jorge Rossy is internationally recognized as one of the most influential drummers of his generation. His sideman work includes over 180 recordings with renowned jazz musicians Brad Mehldau, Ethan Iverson, Kevin Hays, Albert Sanz, Mark Turner, Chris Cheek, Seamus Blake, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Steve Swallow, among many others. Jorge has also toured with some jazz greats including Charlie Haden, Wayne Shorter, Lee Konitz, Carla Bley, and Joe Lovano. Besides his work as a drummer, Jorge has a distinctive voice on the vibes, marimba and piano, and a unique sound as a composer and band leader. Since his first CD under his own name, Jorge Rossy Trio Wicca (Fresh Sound), recorded in 2006, Jorge has recorded over 30 albums as...

Besides his work as a drummer, Jorge has a distinctive voice on the vibes, marimba and piano, and a unique sound as a composer and band leader. Since his first CD under his own name, Jorge Rossy Trio Wicca (Fresh Sound), recorded in 2006, Jorge has recorded over 30 albums as a band leader or co-leader, to critical acclaim from publications such as Jazz Times, Downbeat, Jazz Around, and All About Jazz.

In 2015, Jorge recorded Stay There (Pirouet), his debut recording, leading a truly stellar band and playing vibes and marimba . Since then, Jorge has been touring and recording with different configurations of his band Jordi Rossy Vibes Quintet and several co-led projects, including Passport Quartet, Rossy & Kanan Quartet, Beck/ Landolf/Rossy, Scherrer-Evans-Kurmann-Rossy, Fox Chris Cheek and Rossy & Vercher Quintet «Filantropía», among others.

All these bands are made up of an outstanding cast of musicians, collaborating to create a distinctive sound and an aesthetic full of intimate complicity. The long list of Jorge’s current bandmates includes Al Foster, Joe Chambers, Jimmy Wormworth, Joey Baron, Adam Cruz, Billy Hart, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Domenic Landolf, Pietro Tonolo, Javier Vercher, Chris Cheek, Mike Kanan, Kevin Hays, Michael Beck, Doug Weiss, Putter Smith, Nico Moreaux, Masa Kamaguchi, Marc Abrams, Pete Bernstein, Jaume Llombart, Pierre Perchaud and Vincent Peirani.

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Gabriele Mirabassi (clarinet)

Composer(s)

Egberto Gismonti

The complexity of Brazil, its interweaving and co-existence of culture, finds its echo in the music of Egberto Gismonti, who draws on resources both “primitive” and “sophisticated”. As critic Josef Woodard observed, in Gismonti’s work “the line between folklore, classical heritage, hints of jazz, and nameless modes of invention is beautifully smudged.” Born in 1947 in the small Brazilian town of Carmo, Gismonti studied piano from the age of five and, later flute and clarinet. He is self-taught on guitar, which he took up at age of 21, soon developing his innovative, two-handed techniques of simultaneous lines and counter-melodies on the instrument. In 1970 he travelled to Paris to study with two important teachers, famed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger and twelve-tone composer Jean Barraqué, Webern’s most dedicated disciple. Valuable as these experiences were, they served also to strengthen Gismonti’s respect for the music of his homeland, which seemed to him an unlimited resource. “World music”, as it would later be termed, was on his doorstep – so many musical traditions overlapped and dovetailed in Brazil: “All European cultures and other cultures are part of our culture.” He has always cited his time with the Xingu Indians in the Amazon jungle as a crucial part of his musical and philosophical education, heightening an awareness of essentials necessary for survival, in art and elsewhere.

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Ralph Towner

He launched his jazz career as a Bill Evans-inspired pianist, then travelled to Vienna to study classical guitar with Karl Scheit, the renowned Austrian guitarist, lutenist and teacher. In New York City in the late 1960s, he freelanced on both piano and guitar, before co-founding the band Oregon in 1970, with Collin Walcott, Glenn Moore and Paul McCandless – all of whom would appear on his ECM debut, Trios/Solos, in 1972. Towner’s recordings for ECM have included solo albums, duo projects (with John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock, Gary Burton and Paolo Fresu), bands under his direction (including Solstice with Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen) and discs with Oregon. Towner has also contributed to outstanding albums by Keith Jarrett (In The...

He launched his jazz career as a Bill Evans-inspired pianist, then travelled to Vienna to study classical guitar with Karl Scheit, the renowned Austrian guitarist, lutenist and teacher. In New York City in the late 1960s, he freelanced on both piano and guitar, before co-founding the band Oregon in 1970, with Collin Walcott, Glenn Moore and Paul McCandless – all of whom would appear on his ECM debut, Trios/Solos, in 1972. Towner’s recordings for ECM have included solo albums, duo projects (with John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock, Gary Burton and Paolo Fresu), bands under his direction (including Solstice with Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen) and discs with Oregon. Towner has also contributed to outstanding albums by Keith Jarrett (In The Light), Jan Garbarek (Dis), Kenny Wheeler(Deer Wan) and Egberto Gismonti (Sol do Meio Dia).

In the last few years activities have included many concerts with Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, their album Chiaroscuro garnering much positive press along the way (“Lushly resonant guitar and stately trumpet, a masterful match of color and texture” – The Village Voice). Another important association is with the guitar trio with Austria’s Wolfgang Muthspiel and Kazakhstan-born Australian player Slava Grigoryan. “Three guitarists from three different continents with three very different disciplines unite for this breathtakingly beautiful trio outing,” wrote Down Beat of the album Travel Guide.

Meanwhile, solo guitar work continues. In November 2016 Ralph Towner headlined an ECM Weekend in Cork, Ireland. In February and March 2017 he is in on tour in the US.

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Pat Metheny

Sérgio Assad

Aliéksey Vianna (guitar)

Press

... Great improvisations and the excellent playing technique of the leader do not let this album out of the hand.
jazzfun, 21-5-2022

... The result is nine fine, superficially unexciting recordings that highlight Vianna's Brazilian classical training...
Jazz'n More, 01-5-2022

... Between the sophistication of Brazilian rhythms, Mediterranean joie de vivre, and free improvisations on a wide range of compositions, Aliéksey Vianna's quartet offers us a delightful moment of music whose absolute technical mastery is quickly forgotten to leave room only for pleasure.
jazz halo, 29-4-2022

Seven years after a live trio recording, the Brazilian guitarist Aliéksey Vianna, winner of several classical guitar prizes, has assembled a very attractive "chamber" quartet for TCB, the Montreux label...
radio france, 20-4-2022

It is delicate music, magnificently performed, absolutely mastered, with breathtakingly inventive solos. A delicious moment of music.
Le Soir, 03-8-2022

The pieces on Ancient Myths sound well cared for, put into professional arrangements and skilfully performed. The music sounds oiled and smooth, but if you listen closely, you will discover in addition to this obviousness: virtuosity, brilliant interplay and craftsmanship!
Music Frames, 06-7-2022

... Vianna chooses instead for "Ancient Myths" deliberately unorthodox material with a composed base and a part to be freely improvised, which Mirabassi, Kurmann and Rossy often traverse in the language of contemporary classical...
Jazzthing 06 2022, 27-5-2022

... The Brazilian guitarist Aliéksey Vianna has been living in Basel for a good 15 years and is a border crosser between different musical worlds, which includes jazz, European classical music, new music, popular and classical Brazilian music. On "Ancient Myths", released at the beginning of May, he unrolls a kind of Ariadne's thread to ancient myths of different cultures...
ProgrammZeitung CH 06 2022, 27-5-2022

Aliéksey Vianna's quartet offers us a delicious moment of music whose absolute technical mastery is well and truly present, quickly forgotten to leave room only for pleasure.
JazzMania, 19-5-2022

Between the sophistication of Brazilian rhythms, Mediterranean joie de vivre and free improvisations on a beautiful range of compositions, Aliéksey Vianna's quartet offers us a delicious moment of music whose absolute technical mastery is well and truly present.....
Jazzmania, 19-5-2022

Between the sophistication of Brazilian rhythms, Mediterranean joie de vivre, free improvisations on a beautiful range of compositions, Alieksey Vianna's quartet offers us a delicious moment of music whose absolute technical mastery is well and truly present.
Jazzhalo, 13-5-2022

This album radiates a serene tranquility that is mainly due to the combination of classical guitar, clarinet and vibraphone, but Rossy is also an extremely subtle percussionist and Kurmann can do everything on his double bass.
Rootstime, 01-4-2022