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Jazz Articles about Stephan Thelen
Fractal Sextet: Sky Full Of Hope
by Mike Jacobs
Calling Stephan Thelen's music an extension of the Swiss Minimalist movement may have once seemed appropriate. However, in the years since his band Sonar and Fractal Guitar projects have come to the fore, that characterization has increasingly become inadequate. Proximity, influence, and linkages exist but Thelen's copious activities in the last decade show such a deepening of his root concepts coupled with an embrace of the new, the notion is virtually moot. One of the projects that most ...
Continue ReadingCarles Benevant, ARC Trio, Pepe Cisneros and Stephan Thelen
by Len Davis
Spanish bassist Carles Benavent, ARC Trio with Scott Kinsey, Jimmy Haslip and Gergo Borlai, Dhafer Youssef with Marcus Miller and Nguyen Le. Cuban bassist Antonio Quijano, pianist Pepe Cisneros, with Brazillian guitarist Sandro Haick. Swedish guitarist Stephan Thelen and John McLaughlin with The Montreaux Years . Playlist Carles Benavent “El Tiempo" from Quartet (Bebyne) 00:00 ARC Trio “Conchita" from ARC Trio (Blue Canoe) 08:20 Dhafer Youssef “Ondes Of Chakras" from Street Of Minurets (Back Beat Edition) 16:46 Antonio Quijano ...
Continue ReadingStephan Thelen e Fabio Anile: Music for Piano and Strings
by Mario Calvitti
Avevamo salutato con entusiasmo World Dialogue, il primo lavoro del chitarrista americano (ma residente in Svizzera) Stephan Thelen dedicato alle sue composizioni per quartetto d'archi che traducono in un linguaggio minimalista contemporaneo reminiscente di Steve Reich i suoi principi compositivi basati sull'utilizzo estensivo di poliritmi e finora applicati in chiave rock dal suo gruppo SONAR e nei progetti solistici sfociati nella serie Fractal Guitar. In quella occasione ci augurammo di poter ascoltare altre opere nello stesso ambito, e dopo poco ...
Continue ReadingStephan Thelen: Of Sonar, Fractals And Interactive Complexity
by Mike Jacobs
If you have been at all aware of the two-decade-old movement known as Swiss Minimalism, you've likely seen Stephan Thelen's name crop up. Lately, it would be fairly difficult not to. From 2018 to 2023 alone, his work as a leader in groups like Sonar and Fractal Sextet along with his Fractal Guitar series and other collaborations have produced no less than 12 albums--with at least two more pending releases at the time of this interview. Even more noticeable is ...
Continue ReadingRugerro Robin, Atte Aho, Peter Fernandez and Stephan Thelen
by Len Davis
Italian guitarist Ruggero Robin with his Jazz Trio, bassist Francisco Fattoruso, Finnish guitarist Atte Aho, progressive rock from The Resonance Project, Markus Reuter from Bleed, Stephan Thelen Fractal Guitar 3 and from the UK Paroksha-Destinations OutPlaylist Rugerro Robin “La Nona" from Lo-Fi Project (Juno) 00:00 Francisco Fattoruso “Life Hacker" from Khronos (Ciclope) 07:12 Atte Aho “Elastic Energy" from Atte Aho (Eclipse) 14:36 Peter Fernandez “Galaxy" from Incline (Self Produced) 22:06 The Resonance Project “I Like it" from Rush ...
Continue ReadingFractal Sextet: Fractal Sextet
by Mike Jacobs
In the over two-decade-old “movement" that's come to be known as Swiss Minimalism, guitarist Stephan Thelen has pushed himself to the fore, both with his group SONAR and in solo projects. In recent years, he's been astonishingly prolific (releasing five albums from 2021-2022 alone). With recent group work in Sonar being expanded to include guitarist David Torn, his Fractal Guitar album series (Moonjune, 2019, 2021, 2022) garnering critical acclaim, live albums, Bill Laswell remixes, and his World Dialogue (Rare Noise, ...
Continue ReadingStephan Thelen: Fractal Sextet
by Mark Sullivan
Swiss composer/guitarist Stephan Thelen's two Fractal Guitar albums were largely multi-tracked affairs, involving considerable file sharing. The idea of organizing a band to perform the music live may have been inevitable. The resulting Fractal Sextet is an international project consisting of guitarist Jon Durant (USA), keyboard player and composer Fabio Anile (Italy), bassist Colin Edwin (UK), drummer Yogev Gabay (Israel), percussionist Andi Pupato (Switzerland), and Thelen on guitar and programming.The original plan was to get at least the ...
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