Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Samo Salamon Trio feat. Michel Godard & Roberto Dani: Live!

254

Samo Salamon Trio feat. Michel Godard & Roberto Dani: Live!

By

View read count
Samo Salamon Trio feat. Michel Godard & Roberto Dani: Live!
The music of Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon encompasses a wide-ranging vision that leaves room for both subdued balladry and intense rock-outs. Still, even though there's certainly eclecticism at work in the musical poetics of this musician, who takes in influences as diverse as the gritty melodies of John Scofield and the reverb-drenched innovations of Bill Frisell, Salamon has achieved his own sound, one that combines a distinctively European folk feeling with the major streams of modern jazz guitar.

In spite of its deadpan title, Live! showcases Salamon at his most inventive, touching upon a broad palette of moods, sounds and tempi. Supporting him on the date are the immense talents of Italian drummer Roberto Dani and French tubaist/bassist Michel Godard.

Godard, in particular, proves to be a revelation with his unorthodox approach to the tuba, an instrument rarely heard in modern jazz. The sad sound of his brass adds color and mood to the rainy street meditation of "Hebe," paradoxically developing into a joyful anthem where Salamon spins melodic licks over Godard and Dani's bouncing rhythms. Elsewhere, the beautiful "Fall Memories" finds Godard exploring the texture of his instrument, with brassy breathing sounds and whispers reminiscent of trumpeter Herb Robertson.

Part of the album's dynamic is due to Godard's shift between the bass and tuba, with about half of the album's ten tracks dedicated to each instrument. While the tuba tracks tend to be freer and more meditative, the bass tracks provide a decidedly more rockish feeling that allows Salamon to flex his technical muscles, as on the elastic groove of "Happy Girl," which features lightning fast arpeggios.

Samo Salamon has recorded live successfully before, on Ela's Dream (Splasch, 2005) and Kei's Secret (Splasch, 2006). Live! is another worthy addition to a significant body of work, one that can only enhance Salamon's reputation as a distinctive composer and original guitar stylist.

Track Listing

Hebe; Catch the Train; Kei's Secret; My Rain; Miss Sarcasm; Girl With a Nicotine Kiss; Happy Girl; My Amusing Muse; Fall Memories; Spring Forest.

Personnel

Samo Salamon
guitar, electric

Samo Salamon: guitar; Roberto Dani: drums; Michel Godard: tuba, electric bass.

Album information

Title: Live! | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Samo Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.