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Quartette Indigo: Quartette Indigo
ByLike the stereotyped Gypsy violinist and the similarly typecast blues singer / guitarist, Quartette Indigo has a preference for expressive lyrical phrasing. Each member shares the melodic responsibilities, usually with the bow; other facets of the music are provided through plucking the strings and tapping the wood part of the instruments.
Steve Turre wrote "Andromeda" for their daughter; as do most families, this composition has both happy and dramatic moods, rhythmic complexity, and pure melodic simplicity. The quartet expresses these facets one after another; each member has a solo section. "The Ladies Blues" swings out with strength as if it were the classic "Killer Joe," while Thelonious Monk's ballad "Ruby My Dear" drifts along with interwoven harmony from the four melodramatic role-players.
Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday," from "Black, Brown, and Beige," features John Blake's violin in an expressive near-vocal delivery of the soothing melody. Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" features the leader, both as pizzicato "bassist" and with an improvised look at the familiar melody. Both lyrical and dramatic, Dixon Turre leads the quartet from an emotional as well as musically complete position. Recommended.
Track Listing
Rag Time Dance; Naima; Andromeda; Footprints; Efua; A Saturday Night On Beale Street; Come Sunday; The Ladies Blues; Ruby My Dear; Lift Every Voice And Sing.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Quartette Indigo | Year Released: 1998 | Record Label: 32 Records
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