Bojan Z Tetraband: Humus

The rocket fuelled, electro-acoustic Tetraband quartet began life as a trio pianist Bojan Zulfikarpasic formed with drummer Sebastian Rochford and electric bassist Ruth Goller in 2007. Paris-based Z grew up in what was then Yugoslavia, and the Balkans' dance rhythms have long been a feature of his playing. On tour in Europe, Rochford and Goller, both members of British punk-jazz iconoclast Acoustic Ladyland, brought a heat and groove to the music which perfectly matched Z's passionate double-fisted style.

With the addition of New York-based trombonist Josh Roseman, the trio became Tetraband and recorded Humus in France over three days—Z uses a lot of layered keyboards—in April 2008.

Z says Humus is "the most 'rock' album I could record." While the music mostly avoids the reiterative rhythms and licks of rock, being instead in a near constant state of transformation, it does indeed share rock's structural simplicity and high-voltage. Driven forward by Goller's bass and Rochford's full-on stick assaults—one of the incidental joys of Humus is hearing the famously nuanced, not to say whimsical, drummer get down and dirty and stay there—Z and Roseman fire off extended passages of steaming urgency practically throughout. Briefer, more peaceful sections lower the temperature from time to time.

Despite the time and care which went into the recording—Roseman added trombone arrangements to his basic tracks in New York in December 2008—the album has a powerful live feel. Z's overdubbing must, however, have been extensive; while he frequently doubles up on acoustic and electric keyboards in performance, the degree of layering on Humus suggest a fair amount of post-production.

Z's acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes are backgrounded by the striking textures he creates on Fazioli and his own invention, the xenophone, a concoction of parts from various electric keyboards. Although their aesthetics are dissimilar, Z's imaginative overlays bring to mind those of the American multi-keyboardist Marco Benevento, with Z taking the dark side and Benevento the playful.

Highlights include the Acoustic Ladyland-ish head charge "Greedy (in goods we trust)," the wild Balkan mutation "Fuzzlija," and the bittersweet "Autumn Song," the closest the album gets to a ballad. But there isn't a moment that isn't magic. An outstanding, wildly exhilarating album.

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