Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mia Zabelka: Monday Sessions

7

Mia Zabelka: Monday Sessions

By

View read count
Mia Zabelka: Monday Sessions
Live in concert, Austrian violinist Mia Zabelka is an electrifying performer, whether appearing solo or with others. In any context, she has the uncanny knack of commanding the stage and always being the centre of an audience's attention, achieved by the intensity and focus of her performances, rather than any gratuitous showmanship. (For a typical example, see the YouTube clip below of Zabelka in Trio Blurb with Maggie Nichols and John Russell, neither of whom is renowned as a shrinking violet!)

As she demonstrated on her previous solo album, M (Monotype, 2011) Zabelka's combination of acoustic or amplified violin, electronics and voice enables her to construct atmospheric soundscapes full of variety and drama. She accurately describes her own playing as "a language ensconced between acoustic improvisation and experimental electronic violin music."

Monday Sessions is Zabelka's solo follow-up to M and is markedly different from it. On it, she eschews electronics and is only credited with acoustic violin and voice. Recorded on four Mondays in January and early February 2015, the album consists of ten relatively short tracks, ranging in length from just under three minutes to just under ten. Every track is just the right length to convey what is has to say without ever sounding rushed or padded out, each a self-contained gem that demands to be heard repeatedly.

Without electronics or amplification, Zabelka blends her violin and voice together in ways that are fresh and original, avoiding clichés while unmistakably being part of the improv tradition and lineage. On different tracks, she coaxes vastly differing timbres and voices from her instrument and herself in order to create a variety of moods, as indicated by diverse track titles such as "Imminent Disaster," "Stream of Consciousness" and "Remembrance."

Those who are already familiar with Zabelka will be understandably keen to hear this album and will be hoping for more soon. Those who have not yet seen or heard her are strongly recommended to listen to Monday Sessions; it should convince them to see her in concert as soon as possible.

Track Listing

Dunkles zu sagen; Concentric Circles; Oscillations; Strömungen; Imminent Disaster; Entfremdung; Stream of Consciousness; Papagei; Remembrance; Nachtbild.

Personnel

Mia Zabelka
violin

Mia Zabelka: acoustic violin, vocals.

Album information

Title: Monday Sessions | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Creative Sources Recordings

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.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

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.