Articles by Geno Thackara
Afro-Celt Sound System: Colossus
by Geno Thackara
Hand percussion, flutes and whistles, kora, bagpipes, some conventional rock instruments on the side and a layer of live electronics on top: here is a truly global melting pot of north, south, old and new. ...
read moreGleb Kolyadin: Voyager
by Geno Thackara
Not content to merely master the tricky art of the piano, Gleb Kolyadin manages the even trickier art of crossing prog and classical without relying on volume or bombast. Even if his brand of fusion has plenty of electricity and a share of sweeping drama, somehow this degree of brain-twisting complexity never feels pompous or overblown. ...
read moreDaniel Herskedal: A Single Sunbeam
by Geno Thackara
What Del Close did for the art of improv comedy or Jacques Torres for the art of chocolate, Daniel Herskedal does for the tuba. An occasional star such as Bob Stewart has taken the instrument somewhere fresh outside the time-honored contexts of orchestra or marching band, but it is another thing to make the entire tradition feel new--good luck trying to name anyone else who could adapt the tuba to chill-ambient, Arabian travelogue and Norwegian yoik chanting with equal skill. ...
read moreMatthew Halsall: Bright Sparkling Light
by Geno Thackara
Like an author adding a surprise epilogue when you thought the novel was all wrapped up, Matthew Halsall turns out to still have another turn up his sleeve. An Ever Changing View (Gondwana, 2023) offered the musical equivalent of a seaside creative retreat--the kind of vacation that inevitably seems too short, yet would also feel less special if it actually went on much longer. Fortunately there turned out to be enough unused material to make a complementary EP alongside the ...
read moreMichelle Lordi: Two Moons
by Geno Thackara
The art of the jazz diva does not shy away from the dark and mysterious. From putting a spell on somebody to helplessly falling under that old black magic, the tradition always seems to include some small touch of witchery, and Michelle Lordi, for her part, does not let a modern-day sound obscure those roots. The mood of Two Moons sits somewhere between a late-night set in a small jazz club and a round of spooky stories around the campfire. ...
read moreTom Griesgraber & Bert Lams: Don't Look Back
by Geno Thackara
The title probably isn't really a warning. To judge from the warm affable sound of Tom Griesgraber's Chapman Stick piece, “Don't Look Back" feels more like a piece of optimistic advice. Further brightened by the easygoing chemistry he shares with Bert Lams as they skip through what should be a rhythmic booby trap, it's as bouncy as classy pastoral quasi-folk can get. ...
read moreRalph Towner: Winter Solstice
by Geno Thackara
It's a thoughtful, pastoral yet playful album--an early touchstone of the ECM label's sound, for good reason--and right in the middle, Ralph Towner decides to take a breather a bit more sparse than the rest. The quartet lineup drops to just a duo, and he and Jan Garbarek spin a cozy little tone poem evoking the season's quiet while keeping a fun skip in their step. The darkest day of the year doesn't mean there isn't still a little space ...
read moreHu Vibrational: Timeless
by Geno Thackara
An Adam Rudolph recording is less a collection of musical pieces than of sound paintings. The elements he works with are musical ones--any instrument known to mankind might be used, and often even used to play notes--but traditions of form and melody tend to be tossed out the window from the start. The tones are treated as daubs of paint on a palette, splashed here and there whenever they will add something to whichever imaginary landscape he is evoking at ...
read moreGeno Thackara's Favorites of 2023
by Geno Thackara
It's been another year of surprises around every corner--faces old and new, material fresh or freshly remade, and full of endless imagination in every case. As always, this is just my selection of most-played favorites in no particular order. Matthew Halsall An Ever Changing View Gondwana Records It's almost like a musical set of vacation photos (or whatever the equivalent is for an extended working retreat rather than an actual vacation). Matthew Halsall ...
read moreLRK Trio: Plyasovaya
by Geno Thackara
LRK Trio's roots in Russian musical traditions are unmistakable--this particular title is named for a folk dance dating back centuries--but traditions don't last so long if they're not adaptable. Their style is part authentic folk, part classical, part cutting-edge electro-acoustic fusion and often good for a fun frisky romp. ...
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