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Samo Salamon & Friends: Almost Alone Vol 1
by Glenn Astarita
To keep the train on the track during the Covid lockdowns, artists must think outside the box. Such is the case with this first volume of duets performed by renowned Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon and European guitarists via the Internet by using web-based meeting programs and file-sharing processes. And besides performing on acoustic and electric guitars, Salamon incorporates a Moog synth on several tracks, largely used for textural backdrops. He also uses the body of his acoustic as a percussion ...
Continue ReadingSamo Salamon: Almost Alone Vol 1
by Hrayr Attarian
Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon is as prolific as he is innovative. His restless explorations have resulted in a large, versatile discography that ranges from the orchestral to the free flowing with a variety of ensembles. His 2020 release Almost Alone Vol. 1 is a set of eleven duets each with a different international guitarist. It is the first in a planned three-record series. Every track features a different set of motifs yet the eloquent lyricism of the dialogues ...
Continue ReadingSamo Šalamon: Common Flow & Rare Ebb
by Mark Sullivan
When last heard from, Slovenian guitarist/composer Samo Šalamon released a diverse trio of albums in a single month: an eleven-piece free jazz orchestra; a chamber trio of viola, acoustic guitars and drums; and a “free modern jazz punk avantgarde groove quartet." These two albums are another simultaneous release, but with a difference. They document two sessions recorded on the same day: each containing the same eleven Salamon compositions, and performed by the same three musicians—but with different instrumentation on each ...
Continue ReadingOGJB Quartet & The Last Poets
by Maurice Hogue
There's no way to use geographical borders to define this music called jazz. For instance, the Freequestra from Slovenia: led by acclaimed guitarist Samo Salamon— the ensemble wends its way with power and emotion through Salamon's new Free Sessions Vol.2, a rollicking excursion through the avant-garde. Or in the case of OGJB, a quartet of four masters from the USA (Oliver Lake, Graham Haynes, Joe Fonda & Barry Altschul), their new release, Bamako comes out on a label from Finland. ...
Continue ReadingSamo Salamon & Stefano Battaglia: Pure Magic
by Mark Sullivan
Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon and Italian pianist Stefano Battaglia present a sequel to their first live collaboration WindS (Klopotec Records, 2016). That album included a couple of Salamon compositions along with several collaborative tracks--this time the duo have gone all in with a fully collaborative program, recorded in the studio. “The Beauty of Kei" opens the set in a reflective mood, both instruments exploring harmonically ambiguous chords, the guitar almost sounding like overtones of the piano part at ...
Continue ReadingSamo Salamon: Traveling Moving Breathing
by Mark Sullivan
Slovenian guitarist/composer Samo Salamon has made the bassless trio a recurring format. It offers space for his most open composing and playing: a situation where the amount of harmonic anchoring in the arrangements is largely up to him. As the only chordal instrument he can supply a harmonic framework, or float freely around his compositions in tandem with the horn. As he has worked with the combination the music has tended to become more free: often rubato, more outside harmonically, ...
Continue ReadingSamo Salamon & Howard Levy: Peaks of Light
by Mark Sullivan
American harmonica player Howard Levy is not only a master of the diatonic harmonica; he is also an eclectic musician who elevates every playing situation he participates in. Slovenian guitarist/composer Samo Salamon is a jazz specialist, but he is also a fearless improviser, as demonstrated in his recent duet project WindS (Klopotec, 2016) with pianist Stefano Battaglia and Planets of Kei (NotTwo Records, 2017), a free improvisation session on which he played only acoustic guitar. This album presents ...
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