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Pulsarus: Bee Itch
ByInterestingly enough, the ensemble launches the album with John Lennon's "Imagine." During the onset, soft horns shape the primary theme, but as the album progresses, the musicians execute a horde of off-center contrasts and bursting choruses along with experimental episodes. Strycharski's blockflute work is apt to affix a festive touch and eerie overtones into certain passages that uncannily sound electronically treated. The ensemble's restless spirit shines on a per-track basis as they pursue odd-metered conceptualizations and soundscapes, etched with expressionistic improvisational segments and avant-garde jazz interludes. But they often slam matters into the ozone via brute force soloing, layered passages, brash horns arrangements and ominous progressions.
"Isogriv 2" commences with Stefan Orins' lower-register Fender Rhodes phrasings, steeped in a slow tempo groove, dappled with oddball background treatments, echoing horns and airy flutes. Here, they emit a foreboding vista; although the artists often intersperse gravelly dissonance with heavy metal jazz imagery amid bold works such as "Isogrov 3," that boast zany improvisational tactics and convey a shock and awe mindset. In sum, listening to this ensemble is a stirring experience that should excite the hearts and minds of jazz enthusiasts who yearn for something that goes against the grain, augmented by a highly entertaining form-factor.
Track Listing
Imagine; Guff; Isogriv 1; Bathetic; Isogriv 2; Ataraxia; Baobab; Rotfl; Isogriv 3; Hieratic; Isogriv 4.
Personnel
Dominik Strycharski: soprano, alto & tenor blockflutes; Tomasz Dąbrowski: trumpet,Balkan horn; Aleksander Papierz: alto saxophone; Ray Dickaty: tenor saxophone; Stefan Orins: electric piano; Jacek Mazurkiewicz: double bass; Jakub Rutkowski: drums.
Album information
Title: Bee Itch | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: For Tune
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