Roberto Magris: Freedom Is Peace

In 1998 international recording artist Roberto Magris formed a quintet of talented European musicians and called them his Europlane band which performed actively throughout Europe until 2003. More than twenty years later, the pianist assembles a new Europlane group and presents their first recording with Freedom is Peace, a powerful and captivating session of jazz with a soul-searching social conscious message reflective of the turbulent times we live in today and affirming that jazz can be a political statement which this album is designed to do gracefully. With tenor and soprano saxophonist Tony Lakatos reuniting with Magris on this new adventure, this new sextet brings a new sound produced by some of the finest jazz players on the European jazz scene today.

There are only eight tunes on this album, yet the total recorded time of the set exceeds 75 minutes because, except for "The Island of Nowhere," a mid-tempo burner featuring brisk solos from Lakatos on tenor, Austrian Florian Bramböck on baritone and Slovakian Lukas Oravec on a high-pitched trumpet throughout, which times in at less than seven minutes, the other seven pieces of the album reach to almost thirteen-minutes in duration assuring an abundance of incredible music to enjoy.

The opening title piece, "Freedom is Peace," begins the new journey in explosive fashion launching one salvo after another "with a ferocious intensity" setting the stage for the steamy session to follow. Recorded live at the Festaal in Bad Goisern, Austria in April of 2024, the audience applause and approval becomes an integral part of the final product. Though outstanding throughout the session, the pianist is most pronounced on the exquisite "Something to Save from EU (You)" an original and light melody painting this tune as a ballad for most of the 12-minutes in length as the piano master takes over with passioned play.

The real ballad piece of the set comes from the Andrew Hill ballad, "Laverne," featuring delicious lyrical soprano solos from Lakatos and happens to be one of the leader's favorite compositions which he states he has "been playing it at most of my concerts in the last years." Borrowing from Israeli singer-songwriter Boaz Sharabi the entire sextet sails into smooth water on a Magris "full-bodied arrangement of "When You Touch Me," another long but tasteful tune where the entire band enjoys plenty of solo space on this Israeli pop song that the leader modifies to give it a jazz twist and adds a slight Latin rhythm to make it interesting.

Another swinging and funky number with a tremendous kick to it is the lively, in-your-face piece "Loose Fit," featuring Slovakian drummer Gasper Bertoncelj on a driving rumble. Closing the session, Magris and group let it all hang out on the hard-bop "Hip! For the Conference" a number played often with the previous Europlane band and the pianist includes here as a final link to the memory of the past group. Freedom is Peace is an unforgettable musical statement, with a societal message between the notes that Roberto Magris wants the world to hear, loud and clear!

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