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Hristo Vitchev Quartet: Familiar Fields
by Chris Mosey
New Age jazz from a guitarist very much in the Pat Metheny tradition. Hristo Vitchev was born in Bulgaria but now lives--as do a great many other New Agers--in San Francisco. He wrote the music on this album some time ago but says the songs “were constantly searching for their own voice, their own identity, and their own place in this multi- dimensional sonic universe." So he has now kindly given them a CD all of their ...
Continue ReadingHristo Vitchev Quartet: Familiar Fields
by Jakob Baekgaard
In an age where there is a constant demand for instant gratification, it takes courage to let musical material develop at a slow pace in order to realize an artistic vision. Nevertheless, this is what Bulgarian-born guitarist Hristo Vitchev has done on his album, Familiar Fields, whose compositions were written in the space between Vitchev's second and third album: The Secrets of an Angel (2009) and The Perperikon Suite (2011).In the accompanying liner notes, Vitchev writes about the ...
Continue ReadingHristo Vitchev Quartet: Familiar Fields
by Sammy Stein
Hristo Vitchev is an impressionistic jazz guitarist and composer; born in Belgium but now residing in San Francisco, he leads several modern jazz formations, from duets to quartets. His debut, Song For Messambria (Orbit Sounds, 2009), received positive reviews internationally, and his studio album with Latin Grammy-nominated pianist Weber Iago, Secrets of An Angel (Orbit Sounds, 2009), also received good reviews. Inspired by 5,000 years of Bulgarian history, Vitchev combined classic jazz, fusion and orchestral music in his seven-movement Perperikon ...
Continue ReadingHristo Vitchev and Liubomir Krastev: Rhodopa
by Dan Bilawsky
The duo format is nothing new for Hristo Vitchev, but his prior work in this arena focused exclusively on his playing relationship with pianist Weber Iago. In fact, all four of the Bay Area-based guitarist's prior albums--whether duo, quartet or quintet--featured Iago in the lineup; but everybody knows that nothing is forever. With the release of the first single from his forthcoming Rhodopa (First Orbit, 2013), Vitchev has set off the signal flare to announce the cultivation of a new ...
Continue ReadingHristo Vitchev / Weber Iago: Heartmony
by Hrayr Attarian
Sofia, Bulgaria-born/San Francisco-based guitarist Hristo Vitchev and longtime collaborator, Rio De Janeiro-native pianist Weber Iago, have created a work of sublime musicality with Heartmony. A record of intensely lyrical guitar and piano duets full of mysticism, it comprises of seven of Vitchev's originals that are intricately constructed, but allow the guitarist and pianist ample opportunity for improvisation. Although much of the album, like its cover art, is very impressionistic, perhaps the best example of this is the ...
Continue ReadingHristo Vitchev / Weber Iago: Heartmony
by Karl Ackermann
Surprisingly few piano and guitar duos have been recorded in the jazz genre. Perhaps it is that the instruments work together best when the music is highly nuanced and, frankly, nuance can be boring. Bulgarian guitarist Hristo Vitchev and Latin Grammy-nominated pianist Weber Iago have managed to avoid the abyss of ennui very nicely on Heartmony, a collection of original pieces that are both urbane and appealing.The two opening ballads, “Under Trees of Color, Over Fields of Grey" ...
Continue ReadingHristo Vitchev / Weber Iago: Heartmony
by C. Michael Bailey
Guitarist Hristo Vitchev is a musician of a rare type: one who makes music composition sound easy. As evidenced by his intricately complex The Perperikon Suite (First Orbit Sounds, 2011), it isn't as easy as it seems. On Heartmony, Vitchev teams with his regular collaborator, pianist Weber Iago, for a suite of duets that are as challenging as they are sumptuous and beautiful.“Prelude to Crepuscular Rays/Crepuscular Rays" does not so much blur the genre lines between jazz, world ...
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