Customer Reviews

Tarantella (Dig)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lars Danielsson is an outstanding Bass player from Sweden who, despite this being his third solo outing, is not (like his chosen label ACT Records) very widely known. Whereas his previous album, "Pasodoble" was a strict duo collaboration with Polish pianist Leszek Mozdzer, on "Tarantella" Danielsson broadens the sonic palette by bringing in Mathias Eick on Trumpet, John Parricelli on Guitar & Eric Harland on Drums & Percussion, although all five are rarely heard together with Paricelli being mainly a background figure.

To describe the music you'd have to say that whilst falling within the broad "jazz" canon it certainly has a romantic classical chamber music basis and is highly lyrical, introspective, accessible, engaging & enjoyable whilst somewhat lacking any real fire or "edge"(perfect for a reflective Sunday morning over coffee & pastries!). Danielsson wrote or co-wrote all the tracks except Mozdzer's "Fiojo". Eick & Mozdzer are clearly the prominent voices on this disc, with Eick's trumpet prominent yet rather softly spoken throughout & Mozdzer continually providing excellent support & continuity without a lot of soloing. Danielsson has limited solo space but when he does (for example on "Melody on Wood" & "Traveller's Wife" which is a solo bass piece) he is excellent.

"Traveller's Defense" which follows immediately after "Traveller's Wife" is a standout with Eick & Mozdzer embellishing a delightfully mournful yet purposeful theme. Other standouts are "Fiojo" which features delightful interplay between piano & bass and "The Madonna" which again features Eick & Mozdzer with very good changes of mood/dynamic including some nice propulsive beats from Harland and a delightful piano solo.

Highly recommended.

Highly recommended.

The three recent releases under Danielsson's name are all great. Pasodoble is particularly special-- it is a vibrant yet relaxing piano-bass duet. Tarantella is different but great in its own way. I also enjoy Melange Bleu, which mixes acoustic and electronic numbers, some of it sounding like Tarantella and some of it more like the recent release by Mattias Eck (or almost like a NP Molvaer album). I find myself often returning to these albums rather than other, more publicized recent albums in my collection (John Hassell, NP Molvaer, Arve Henricksen, Keith Jarrett Trio Yesterdays, etc...).

I find this sort of classical jazz hard to descibe, being introspective music, and thus resonates depending on ones mood, so i cannot add much,but as David, reviewer stated plainly enough it even works with coffee & pastries!

Lars Danielsson, Swedish bassist has created another incredible recording this time bringing in masterful sidemen. Leszek Mozdar returns on piano, Mathias Eick, trumpet, John Parricelli, guitar and Eric Harland drums. This lyrical recording benefits from these incredible players, think of Danielsson's duets with Mozder and broaden the sonic palate considerably. The compositions are romantic but never saccharine, featuring great improvisation but still steadfastly in the pocket. If you enjoy the recent ECM releases by Stanko, Gustaveson, Wasilewski, Tsabropoulos Stenson, etc., you will love this. As another reviewer said, this gets more plays than all my recent jazz records. Great stuff or as we used to all killer no filler...!