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Nik Bartsch's Ronin: Llyria
by John Kelman
Nik Bärtsch's Ronin Llyrìa ECM Records 2010 Few artists have emerged in recent times with so unique and fully-formed a voice as pianist Nik Bärtsch. Living largely, as he does, in the jazz world--especially since coming to ECM in 2006 with Stoa, after years foundation-setting and groundbreaking work in his native Switzerland, honing the distinctive blend of minimalist repetition, interlocking polyrhythms and compelling grooves that he's dubbed “Zen Funk" and “Ritual Groove" on a series ...
Continue ReadingNik Bartsch's Ronin: Llyria
by Chris May
Pianist Nik Bärtsch's Ronin has traveled a long way since its formation in 2001, through its early albums on Ronin Rhythm Records, its signing with ECM, and the three discs that label has so far released. Mid-decade, the Swiss band was forging its reputation with a relentlessly beat-centric style which Bärtsch dubbed “Zen funk" and “ritual groove music"--a blend of minimalism and James Brown which gave P-funkster George Clinton's maxim “free your ass and your mind will follow" a new ...
Continue ReadingNik Bartsch's Ronin at Joe's Pub, NYC
by Budd Kopman
Nik Bartsch's Ronin at Joe's Pub, NYCJoe's PubNew York City, New YorkMarch 5, 2008 Simple complexity, complex simplicity; intellectual control, emotional abandon; individual details, organic wholeness; deep, deep bottom, floating highs; irresistible funky groove, phase-shifting rhythmic interaction; dramatic storytelling, propulsive drive; just a band, an artistic entity. Nik Bartsch's Ronin, and his music, is all of the above and much, much more. Having first played at Joe's Pub on July 3, ...
Continue ReadingNik Bartsch's Ronin: Holon
by Andrey Henkin
It may seem odd to begin a CD review by expressing gratitude over its length, but there you have it. Pianist Nik Bärtsch's Holon, with his Ronin group, is a shade under 56 minutes and it is to his credit that he understands that with his particular brand of music, less is more. Like a walk on a foggy evening, it is only wondrous for a while. Bärtsch's first of six independently released discs before signing with ...
Continue ReadingNik Bartsch's Ronin: Holon
by Dan McClenaghan
For those of us who weren't paying attention earlier, Nik Bartsch's Ronin first burst on the scene with its 2007 ECM Records debut, Stoa. But the Swiss composer-pianist had, in fact, been building a just-beneath-the-radar discography for several years on his own Ronin Rhythm Records.Which brings us to Holon, Bartsch's second ECM set, one which moves the music deeper into the “Zen Funk" and “Ritual Groove" foundational mold that the pianist and his band have constructed.It's ...
Continue ReadingNik Bartsch's Ronin: Holon
by Budd Kopman
With the release of Stoa (ECM, 2006), pianist Nik Bärtsch and his band Ronin caused a tsunami of words to be written that attempted to describe what this music was and why it evoked such strong emotions. Certainly, the shock of the new had something to do with it. Upon reflection, however, the key things turned out to be a deep funkiness united with minimalist repetition and phase-shifting polyrhythms, played with Zen-like concentration. In other words, this new sound was, ...
Continue ReadingNik Bartsch's Ronin: Holon
by John Kelman
While Nik Bärtsch's 2006 ECM debut, Stoa, was a powerful first shot across the international bow, garnering a place on many journalists' “Best of" lists for the year, the Swiss pianist had, in fact, been honing his self-proclaimed “Zen Funk" since the beginning of the decade, starting with the equally descriptive Ritual Groove Music (Ronin Rhythm Records, 2001). Holon capitalizes on the success and innovation of Stoa, again featuring his Ronin quintet, proving the value of ongoing musical partnerships, especially ...
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