Jazz Articles about Asaf Sirkis

About Asaf Sirkis

Album Review

Sirkis/Bialas IQ: Our New Earth

Read "Our New Earth" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
November 26, 2019

Established in 2014, when this band released its first album Come To Me (Stonebird Productions, 2015; limited distribution by MoonJune Records) it called itself The Sirkis/Bialas International Quartet. It has shortened the name to Sirkis/Bialas IQ, but it's still international: Asaf Sirkis (drums) is an Israeli living in England; Sylwia Bialas (vocals) is a Pole living in Germany; Frank Harrison (keyboards) is English; and Scot Kevin Glasgow (six string electric bass) replaces American Patrick Bettison (electric bass/chromatic harmonica).

Live Review

Sirkis/Bialas International Quartet at Duncairn Arts Centre

by Ian Patterson
April 4, 2018

Sirkis/Bialas International Quartet Duncairn Arts Centre Belfast, N. Ireland March 22, 2018 Coming so soon after Belfast's annual jazz festival, Brilliant Corners, the appearance of Sirkis/Bialas IQ at Duncairn Arts Centre was a real treat for jazz fans. Better still, the concert was free, sponsored as it was by the Institute for Conflict Research. Since 1996 the non-profit ICR, which is based in Belfast, has worked with community groups in a host of ...

Album Review

Dwiki Dharmawan: Pasar Klewer

Read "Pasar Klewer" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
January 7, 2017

Another day, another two- disc set. Or so it seems. Fortunately, one does not have to wade through Dwiki Dharmawan's Pasar Klewer. Despite some odd choices in track sequence one may even wonder ..."is that all?" after the second disc has finished its spin. Dharmawan is an Indonesian jazz pianist who, like so many of his countrymen, has found a rich vein of inspiration in the folk and ethnic musics of his native land. It's worth noting that Dharmawan is ...

Extended Analysis

Asaf Sirkis Trio: Shepherd's Stories

by John Kelman
October 22, 2013

It's getting to the point where it's almost impossible to pigeonhole an artist into any one category---and that can't be anything but a good thing. Sure, some people like to think of the artists they love as jazz, rock or classical musicians, but the truth is that, more and more, musicians simply want to be thought of as people who play music. Still, there's an intrinsic need to categorize music, if for no other reason than to help provide some ...

Album Review

Asaf Sirkis Trio: Shepherd's Stories

Read "Shepherd's Stories" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
August 12, 2013

Maybe it's the unfashionably hot weather that's hit the UK in recent summers, but there's something almost cheery about drummer Asaf Sirkis' Shepherd Stories. Sirkis' church organ/guitar based Inner Noise recordings wove a jazz-gothic tale, while The Monk (SAM Productions, 2008)--with guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos and bassist Yaron Stavi--balanced tantalizingly between pretty melancholy and a slightly dark aesthetic. That said, a lyrical vein has always permeated Sirkis' music Letting Go (Stonebird Productions, 2010) signaled the trio's move toward less introspective and ...

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Album Review

Tassos Spiliotopoulos: Archipelagos

Read "Archipelagos" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
December 8, 2010

Since moving to London in 2000 to study music, Greek guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos has built a solid reputation as a technically gifted musician, building an impressive résumé of collaborations in a relatively short time, working with drummer/keyboardist Gary Husband, saxophonist Tim Garland, singer/multi-instrumentalist Eileen Hunter and guitarists John Parricelli, Mike Outram and John Etheridge. His debut as leader, Wait for Dusk (Konnex Records, 2006), featuring bassist Yaron Stavi, drummer Asaf Sirkis, and tenor saxophonist Robin Fincker, garnered positive reviews for ...

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Album Review

Asaf Sirkis: Letting Go

Read "Letting Go" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
September 29, 2010

The quiet evolution of drummer Asaf Sirkis as a composer has been fascinating to behold and almost as beguiling as his playing. The confluence of influences that give shape to his rhythms--Middle Eastern, Indian and jazz--combined with a love of Sun Ra's music and an interest in astronomy, results in music which is difficult to pin down, yet which is undeniably hypnotic, in a slightly dark and brooding manner. Where Letting Go differs fromThe Monk (SAM, 2008) is in the ...