Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Igor Butman Big Band: The Eternal Triangle

327

Igor Butman Big Band: The Eternal Triangle

By

View read count
Igor Butman Big Band: The Eternal Triangle
As an admirer of big bands all over the world, I've waited years to hear a well-endowed, swinging ensemble from Russia, and here at last it is, charging boldly into the labyrinthine Eternal Triangle behind its charismatic leader, tenor saxophonist Igor Butman.

Butman is a jazz superstar in his native country, and his band is so highly regarded that it was invited by none other than Wynton Marsalis to share the stage with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra to open the JALC concert season in September '03. Butman's ensemble more than held its ground that evening, and now, more than three years onward, comes its debut recording, and to note that it affirms the band's prowess would be understating the case.

Ben Ratliff, who covered the JALC performance for The New York Times, compared Butman as an improviser to Marsalis, but I'll go him one better. To me, he sounds much like a Russian version of the late great Tubby Hayes, and to readers in Great Britain, there could be few more favorable comparisons. Those in the States should think Jimmy Heath with traces of James Moody, Hank Mobley, George Coleman and even Stan Getz.

Butman, as resourceful a composer as he is a player, wrote seven of the album's nine numbers; the other two are Sonny Stitt's "Triangle and Vitaly Dolgov's "Bolero. The arrangements, all by Dolgov, are invariably bright and engaging. Besides the "Bolero, there's a graceful "Waltz for Oksana, a charming "Samba de Igor, a debonair "Blues of a Tired Man, a lyrical "French Connections, a genial salute to "Strange and Beautiful Siberia, and a pair of exuberant flag-wavers, "Bulit and "Falling Out.

Good as Butman is, the band is equally adept, and every one of its soloists is impressive. There is one "ringer, guest trumpeter Randy Brecker, who is typically persuasive on "Triangle, "Tired Man and "Siberia but has to work hard to outmuscle trumpeters Vitaly Golovnev ("Bulit ) and Artem Kovalchuk ("Falling Out ). Pianist Anton Baronin is another standout, as are trombonists Vadim Akhmetgareev and Alexey Sekatsky, tenor Dmitry Mospan, baritone Alexander Dovgopoly, guitarist Pavel Chekmakovsky, bassist Vitaly Solomonov and drummer Eduard Zizak, who also leads the ensemble's stalwart rhythm section.

The clear and inescapable verdict is that this is an outstanding band, Butman is a forceful and inventive player, and The Eternal Triangle is a consistently sharp and rewarding album.

Track Listing

French Connections; The Eternal Triangle; Waltz for Oksana; Bolero; Blues of a Tired Man; Samba de Igor; Bulit; Strange and Beautiful Siberia; Falling Out (70:16).

Personnel

Igor Butman
saxophone, tenor

Igor Butman: leader, tenor, soprano saxophone; Vladimir Mamyko: trumpet; Vladimir Galatkionov, Vadim Eilenkrig, Artem Kovalchuk, Vitaly Golovnev: trumpet, flugelhorn; Oleg Grymov, Konstantin Safyanov: alto sax; Dmitry Mospan: tenor sax; Alexander Dovgopoly: baritone sax, flute; Alexey Sekatsky, Alexander Ageev, Alexander Konovalov: trombone; Vadim Adhmetgareev: bass trombone; Pavel Chekmakovsky: electric, acoustic guitar; Anton Baronin: piano; Vitaly Solomonov: bass; Eduard Zizak: drums. Special guest artist: Randy Brecker: trumpet (2,5,8).

Album information

Title: The Eternal Triangle | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Access Industries

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

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.