Jazz Articles

Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet: Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
June 1, 2009

That bandleaders Samo Salamon and Aljosa Jeric are Slovenian doesn't appear to be of much musical relevance; jazz settings of East European folk songs are not the order of the day here. But it might have some metaphorical relevance; just as their tiny homeland has shot to the top of all social, economic and political rankings of countries of the former socialist bloc, this guitar and drum duo has rocketed in a relatively short time to the ranks of world ...

Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet: Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner

by Nic Jones
March 20, 2009

The modern mainstream doesn't often get as rarefied as this, and that very point is one of this quartet's greatest strengths. Guitarist Samo Salamon's playing is rhythmically ambiguous with a happily singular mellowness, and it's abundantly obvious that tenor saxophonist Mark Turner)), at the worst of times one of the most singular voices out there, finds this to be a fertile musical environment. <P> This is, however, not necessarily a soloist's music. It's just as easy to be taken by ...

Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet: Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner

by John Dworkin
February 19, 2009

Mamasaal is a recording led by guitarist Samo Salamon and drummer Aljosa Jeric featuring the relentlessly creative saxophonist Mark Turner. Salamon and Jeric both hail from the newly post-socialist country of Slovenia. Having been recently formed after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, maybe there is something to the idea of jazz being a truly “democratic" art form.

The tunes are all originals: six from Salamon and four from Jeric. Rhythmically and harmonically they're strictly modern: no blues, bebop, or ...

Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet: Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner

by Jerry D'Souza
February 15, 2009

Samo Salamon is an adventurer in more ways than one. As a guitarist he is constantly in search of the new, finding it in unexpected harmonic concepts and in the development and fulfillment of the themes. He also chooses to play with different musicians on his recordings, thus opening the doors to a fresh world of ideas.

Salamon has an extraordinary sense for dynamics that triggers his craft as a guitarist. He finds tangents and angles, the straight path and ...

Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet: Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner

by Mark F. Turner
February 8, 2009

The fact that guitarist Samo Salamon continues to surround himself with some of the brightest players in jazz is an inkling into his abilities as a performer and leader. To name a few: Drew Gress, Tyshawn Sorey, Gerald Cleaver, Luciano Biondini, and David Binney have appeared on Salamon's recordings ranging from edgy, jazz-rock and cerebral melodies. Salamon continues his prolific foray on this joint effort with fellow Slovenian, drummer Aljosa Jeric, with bassist Matt Brewer and featured saxophonist Mark Turner. ...

Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet: Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner

by Matt Marshall
February 4, 2009

Don't expect to have your bones rattled by Samo Salamon & Aljosa Jeric Quartet's Mamasaal feat. Mark Turner. It's a subtle, contemplative work, passing with the warm glow of an evening lost to conversation and intoxicants in the likes of the album cover's ornate parlor.

At times, Salamon's guitar is breezy, providing a calm sea over which tenor saxophonist Turner can sing, swoon and squawk. But stiff peaks emerge from Salamon's ocean, sparking bright pinpricks of ...