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DOMO
JEAN FRANCOIS MALJEAN/Gallery (Plays Kitaro): Even when this label does something different, the apple doesn’t fall far from it’s tree. Belgian piano jazz ace Maljean fell in love with Japan and it’s sounds and worked eastern sounds into his new age and jazz stylings. The road eventually led t Kitaro and this set of piano imagings of Kitaro mainstay pieces. It’s a freshen up that works for all involved, including the listener. Once a career gets long enough, it’s easy to take it for granted. Maljean reminds fans why they dug the new age mainstay in the first place with this smartly conceived set.
73067
KARI ON PRODUCTIONS
SAMSON TRINH/Very Strange Night: Oh, those hard working Asian kids… The 23 year old major domo of the Richmond, VA jazz scene is showing us why you better not expect him to stay down on the farm for too long. Winner of a handful of jazz scholarships, he’s been around and soaked up all the good vibes he could find jazzwise and now makes some wise jazz. An original set that finds him capably leading a big band, he’s hardly precious or precocious just for the sake of it. Trinh is an important, new jazz voice and this set of originals bodes well for future incursions. A nice portrait of a young lion on the rise.
111 (Giggity)
SIX DEGREES
ZAMAN 8 & HAFEZ MODIR/Suryaghati EP: World dance music with a South Asia vibe that encompasses everything including the kitchen sink, but does it with flair and style. Ostensibly dance music with a world beat edge that doesn’t shy away from jazz and classical Indian elements, any college kid worth their nose piercing should be digging this the next time a real left of center party fires up.
7037
VIOLINJAZZ
QUARTET SAN FRANCISCO/Latigo: In the same spirit that Kronos reimagined string chamber music, Quartet San Francisco takes it to the next level of the game using world beat as their basis and letting the vibes flow from there. With smart playing that got this indy recording Grammy nominations right out of the box, they mine a world beat/classical fusion putting them on a different tangent and creating their own fast track. Killer playing with fine attention to detail, musically and sonically, give this set a head and shoulders lift above other comers. Tasty adult listening, whether tackling classic Piazzolla or sliding in some originals, that’s sure to make a great impact. A top shelf work throughout that’s pleasantly out of the ordinary.
104
Volume 30/Number 77
January 16, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
(c)2007 Midwest Record
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