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Liquid Quintet: Bouquet
by John Sharpe
After three albums by his Liquid Trio, Catalan pianist Agustí Fernández augments the regular line up of drummer Ramon Prats and saxophonist Albert Cirera with guests bassist Barry Guy and reedman Don Malfon. In the liner notes, Fernández traces the original threesome's lineage back to the Alexander von Schlippenbach Trio and, by implication, to their forebears, the Cecil Taylor Unit. Although, in his realization, the band retains the energy of free jazz, the emphasis on sonic exploration pushes them further ...
read moreLiquid Trio: Marianne
by Mark Corroto
The free jazz of the Liquid Trio might best be described as quicksilver, a sort of liquified metal. In the context of music making, their ability to move and change shape instantly makes them difficult to contain. Marianne, the follow up to Primer Dia i Última Nit (Sirulita, 2013), is the second album released by this ensemble. The draw here, of course, is pianist Agusti Fernandez, an in demand solo performer. He is also the leader of a ...
read moreAgusti Fernandez / Zlatko Kaučič: Sonic Party
by John Sharpe
Sonic Party documents a live meeting between Catalan pianist Agusti Fernandez and Slovenian percussionist Zlatko Kaucic. Unlike similar encounters with his countryman Ramon Lopez, all the selections here are generated on the fly. Such pairings accentuate the percussive nature of the piano, and all the more so because Fernandez is one of the greatest proponents of this in his determined delving into the keyboard's innards. In spite of residence abroad and appearances throughout Europe since 1975, Kaučič 's discography remains ...
read moreAgustí Fernández/Barry Guy/Ramón López: A Moment's Liberty
by Mark Corroto
The term “elegance," is rarely utilized when referring to a jazz recording. In fact, “elegant jass"might be an oxymoronic term. Sure, The Modern Jazz Quartet always performed in formal wear, and Duke Ellington evoked gracefulness in response to his advertised “jungle music," but jazz has always bumped up against the high brow ceiling of more orthodox music. Enter the Aurora Trio of pianist Agustí Fernández, bassist Barry Guy and drummer Ramón López. Their music (lets call it poetry) ...
read moreAgusti Fernandez - Barry Guy - Ramon Lopez: A Moment's Liberty
by Glenn Astarita
The powerhouse international trio's third effort radiates an uncanny, or perhaps uncommon framework combining beauty--due to Agusti Fernandez's lyrically rich and gorgeous statements--coupled with power and free-form elaborations. For instance, on the 18-minute opener “A Moment's Liberty," Fernandez opens with solitary phrasings via lush balladry while transmitting a sense of loneliness until the band embarks on a topsy-turvy voyage, drenched with slippery deviations and drummer Ramon Lopez's rolling wave type patterns. Aided by the translucent audio engineering, you ...
read moreAurora Trio at Dachau Kultur-Schranne, Germany
by John Sharpe
Aurora Trio: Agusti Fernandez, Barry Guy and Ramon Lopez Dachau Kultur-Schranne GermanyOctober 26, 2013 In an artform as mutable as jazz, nothing is ever finished. So it was that even in the soundcheck, Catalan pianist Agusti Fernandez and virtuoso English bassist Barry Guy were still tweaking some of their arrangements. Not that you would have known once the Aurora Trio got underway, such was the obvious pleasure taken in the spontaneous interaction between the threesome. ...
read moreAgusti Fernandez: El Laberint de la Memoria
by Mark Corroto
An improviser's take on 20th century Spanish classical music might seem like odd subject matter for a worldclass free jazz pianist like Agustí Fernández, but El Laberint de la Memòria ("The Labyrinth of Memory") testifies to the artist's imagination and facility. In addition to being a member of several of Evan Parker's ensembles, recent sessions by the mega-talented Fernández's have included Joe Morris' Ambrosia (Riti, 2011), Peter Evans and Mats Gustafsson's Kopros Lithos (Multikulti, 2011) and, with the ...
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