VENICE SUITE
REVIEWS
BRF1, Radio, Werner Barth, ForumThis new CD has a lot of structure and yet a wealth of surprising moments. A great mix of both.
EJAZZNEWS By Glenn AstaritaIt's a joint prodution taken on by Southern California-based Cryptogramophone and the Belgian, Jazz'Halo record label by a trio that irrefutably rises to the occasion. Violinist and Crypto label chief Jeff Gauthier established a rapport with Belgian guitarist Gilbert Isbin via some California concerts and an interest in each others artistry. Subsequently, fellow West Coast musician bassist/pianist Scott Walton was deemed the right man for the job with rounding it this wonderfully enticing and genre-hopping studio date. In effect, there's quite a bit going on under the proverbial hood.
Gauthier combines the flair of a concert violinist with dense improvisational acumen to complement the musicians weaving of hypnotically melodic lines with richly textured themes. They often interrogate each others voicings while occasionally mixing it up within avant-garde like frontiers. On the piece titled 'Shine', the violinist executes a sweet melody atop Isbin and WaltonÕs bouncy undercurrents. Yet, the trio also inject moments of dissonance into the grand scenario where plots develop and ultimately morph into a regeneration of musical notions. Then on 'Why Was That', Isbin lays down a haunting ostinato as Walton subsequently stretches out with ascending lines. For the finale, the trio covers fabled song sleuth Nick Drake's River Man. Finesse, discernible ingenuity and a highly entertaining form-factor are but a few of the attributes uttered throughout this units musicality. Glenn Astarita
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Venice Suite , un bel album del trio costituito dal chitarrista acustico belga Gilbert Isbin, dal violinista svizzero-americano Jeff Gauthier e dal bassista americano Scott Walton (che si esibisce qui anche al pianoforte). Rispetto alle precedenti proposte lo scenario decisamente piu orientato verso la musica classica. Il lavoro strutturato in maniera molto ordinata. Si parte con tre brani scritti da Isbin che presentano in qualche modo lo spirito di questo trio carico di suggestioni e lontani echi europei. Poi si passa alla 'The Venice Suite' che dˆ il titolo all album. é un lavoro in tre parti, pieno di delicati colori pastellati in chiaroscuro, con il piano di Walton pronto a legare assieme le filigrane arabescate che scaturiscono dalla chitarra e dal violino, svolazzando nell'aria senza mai fermarsi. Seguono ancora tre brani e una nuova suite intitolata 'The Brugge Suite' in onore della citta belga che ha visto Jeff Gauthier e Gilbert Isbin incontrarsi per la prima volta agli inizi di ottobre del 2003. In questo caso nei tre movimenti della suite troviamo impegnati solo il chitarrista e il violinista e l'atmosfera ancora piu cameristica e rarefatta. A chiudere l'album troviamo quattro brani ancora in trio. L'ultimo di questi brani la bella 'River Man' di Nick Drake, una interessante rilettura crepuscolare e ipnotica che chiude in bellezza questo album carico di magiche interconnessioni.
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Deux suites, celle de Venise et celle de Bruges, pour guitare et violon, avec une basse ou un piano, pour parfaire le trio, et de petites pièces pour ce trio singulier. On est en pleine musique contemporaine savante. Les compositions sont essentiellement du guitariste classique Gilbert Isbin, formé Villa-Lobos, en nettement plus moderne, plus qu'au swing manouche. Mais elles émanent aussi du trio ( Venice Suite ) ou du guitariste et du violoniste ( Brugge Suite ). Beaucoup de pièces sont manifestement écrites comme des études. On est ˆ des éloignements sidéraux du jazz. C'est beau quand même, nen déplaise aux gardiens du temple. -Michel Bedin
WWW.IMPROV.HU (Translation from Hungarian)The press material of Venice Suite promises melodious free music while the acoustic trio, led by the Belgian Gilbert Isbin, featured on the disc released as a co-production of the Belgian Jazz'halo and the Southern Californian Cryptogramophone label, and creates a rather favourable impression with two suites and ten short individual compositions which are, by no means, short on surprises. Isbin, playing acoustic guitars, also made an appearance last year with an album entitled Avoid A Void, with Philip Fourier on his side playing the hurdy-gurdy. Of the two pieces, the Venice Suite is more lively and more sparkling, thus definitely more exciting. Disc releases related to Gilbert Isbin are now approaching twenty and from the very beginning, his music has been characterized by the duality of contemporary classical music and modern jazz or composed music and improvised music with his compositions presenting a multitude of polyrhythm and bizarre sound effects as well as almost flatulent melodies or colourful harmonies. Beside his solo pieces, he leads several duet and trio formations, the most significant of his occasional collaborators being Sandor Szabo and Balas Major with whom he had put out two solo albums a few years ago (Constellation and The Clear Perception Of Provenance Within). Jeff Gauthier is a composer and producer (and he has much to do with the high prestige Cryptogramophone, if I am not mistaken), yet in this case he is mainly being a violin player. Trained as a classical musician, he is a member of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra and Quartet Music, a band founded by noise guitarist Nels Cline. Scott Walton, acoustic bass guitar and occasional piano player of the Venice Suite recordings, is someone I know from the band Cosmologic, yet according to his assorted discography he has played alongside countless musicians I hold in high respect (such as Wadada Leo Smith, George Lewis, Gerry Hemingway etc.) and contributed to materials released by famous record publishers (Cadence Jazz, Soul Note, Nine Winds etc.). The album recorded in a total of two afternoons in November 2005, commences with three individual Isbin compositions pleasantly filled with sentimentalism yet adventurously winding, followed immediately by the three-piece...
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Gilbert Isbin is a versatile acoustic guitarist from Belgium. He made many albums as well solo as with fellow musicians. The last CD I do remember was with the Hungarian guitarist Sandor Szabo. Gilbert likes to experiment with music and on 'Venice Suite' he plays in a trio with violinist Jeff Cauthier and Scott Walton on double bass and piano. The music has a jazzy feelings but goes far beyond that. Most pieces have very experimental structures and are at a brilliant way woven to masterpieces. The penetrating violin of Jeff Cauthier sets often the tone for each composition, with a melancholic and dramatic feeling, which reflect abstract musical patterns which go far beyond the surface and take one on a wonderful musical journey. Total 16 tracks with various setups, sometimes with piano like When All Is Said and Done have a more contemporary jazz feeling. Nick Drake's
River Man is a stunning piece where Gilbert Isbin's classical guitar is very intriguing. The musicians all interact perfect at that's why this CD is a recommendation for any music enthusiast.
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Recorded in Los Angeles in November 2005, at the Cryptogramophone Studios belonging to the record company having the same name and run by Gauthier, the album is the result of effective team work as well as the composition, and essentially reflects the cross conception of Isbin, able to merge many influences into a homogeneous expressive character. On the other hand, looking at the resumes of Gauthier and Walton there should be no surprise. Among the several collaborations, the former can count Vinny Golia, Mark Dresser, Yusef Lateef and Gregg Bendian, whereas the latter can count George Lewis, Leo Smith, John Carter and Anthony Davis. The opening 'Gift to the Fall' is already a hint of how the previous experience with Oregon has provided fruitful results: sometimes it reminds of 'Violin', a record by that historic band featuring the late celebrated Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert. The guitar style of Isbin reveals different but complementary worlds: a dry melodic sense and the harmonious refinement by Ralph Towner; the percussion touch by Egberto Gismonti; the popular verve and the black absence by Villa Lobos and Brouwer; the cerebral approach by Castelnuovo Tedesco. This trio often acts in symbiosis, as a sort of European-like reply to the 'String Trio of New York'. They are reminiscent of serial post-Webern criteria and sometimes provided with a rhythmic way with Bartok-inspired roots. In particular, 'Venice in Bloom' is founded on an atonal structure with a special focus on the timbre values, whereas the violin-guitar duo of 'Begijnhof Sonnet' unveils some analogies with the 'Sequenze' by Berio. On the other hand, the work on the dynamics and expressive resources of the instruments is the undisputed leader here, as proven by the richness of pianos and pianissimos in 'Reflection at Maribou's', or the geometric theme and the jarring developments in 'Cute Movements'. The remarkable balance between classic-contemporary, jazz and folk matrixes finally finds a delicious, as much as unexpected epilogue in a piece by Nick Drake, 'River Man', to whom Isbin had especially devoted an album to in 2000. A value added is the short length of nearly all of the tracks that, especially in the two suites, participate in the composition of 'unity mosaics'.
JAZZRYTMYT (Finland) 02/07)The new record of Jazzhalo includes interesting and inspiring acoustic music. To begin with we listen to three compositions by Gilbert Isbin. The expression of the material is constrained in the sense that there are no long solo improvisations in the design. In my opinion this is by no means any common muzak it features intelligent arrangements and the authenticity of the sound supports the compositions, and the assertiveness ensures that the pieces will not be resigned to mere background music. After these three compositions The Venice Suite follows. This is the first of a three-piece improvisation. Somehow the trio manages in a very short time to create a lot of content here. Venice In Bloom becomes the climax, we find a lot of sensitivity here. Pieces numbers 7 to 10 are compositions by Isbin. In this kind of material his acoustic keystrokes are allowed to play in an efficient way, and the sound of the guitar is natural in an exemplary way. Piece number 8, Shine, feels particularly memorable. The ensemble somehow succeeds to achieve a lot out of very little. Even if the music in many places feels simple, it manages to hold your attention and it never bores you. Of many of the pieces I can but say that they sound good. The second three-piece improvisation, The Brugge Suite, is a duo with Isbin and Jeff Gauthier, the violinist. This is musical improvisation at its best, where the interaction between the musicians really works. There, I said it; the most important word in relation to music, the reason why I like this record so much: interaction. Number 13, Why Was That, is an excellent composition by Isbin, where I recommend that you pay special attention to the bass lines. Also number 14, Invocation, is a composition by Isbin. Number 15, Cute Movements, was composed in co-operation with Luiz Marques. Between simple and efficient themes the music grows, and becomes very free. Lastly we hear River Man by Nick Drake. Here the arrangement works flawlessly, creating a very integral and elegant entity. In short, I find this a very fine record.
CITIZENJAZZConstruit autour de deux suites improvisées, l’une vénitienne, l’autre brugeoise, Venice Suite s’aventure du côté d’un Schonberg à l’accent andalou. Comme sa pochette ne l’indique pas, le trio délivre une musique hérissée, vive et exigeante, fondée sur des questions/réponses incessants entre les instruments. L’alliage de la guitare classique aux crissements du violon crée une atmosphère à la fois inquiétante et raffinée, entre dissonance et mélodie. A noter, une relecture classique et apaisée du River Man de Nick Drake.
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For the very latest release on the Jaz’zhalo label, Jos Demol brought together three musicians he has admired for quite some time. Guitarist Gilbert Isbin, violinist Jeff Gauthier and bassist Scott Walton, who also features on piano on a number of songs. A stroke of genius by all accounts, as Venice Suite has come up trumps. The three musos have an intuitive sense of understanding each other, performing Isbin’s compositions like a dream. Gauthier is a violinist who is equally well versed in jazz as he is in classical music, not to mention the fact that, same as Isbin, he manages to extract a wonderful sound from his instrument. Walton, who previously stood out favourably as part of Vinny Golia’s band and who will be gigging with Cosmologic in Holland and Belgium this coming spring, has a solid but especially warm sound which lends body to the somewhat dreamy compositions. The great thing about Venice Suite is that the music is extremely adventurous without ever sounding contrived or cerebral, with the adaptation of Nick Drake’s River man which concludes this CD, probably being the most straightforward example. The rendition sounds simple enough but is performed to technically astonishing standards and, what is far more important, it has an incredible impact. Charles Moffett once wrote a song entitled Avantgarde Got Soul Too. Venice Suite is living proof.
MAZZMUZIKAS #60 (Translation from Dutch)It's a while ago that Jazz'halo released a new Cd but it was worth waiting with this Venice Suite. As it was always the case in the past this project is once again a CD for connoisseurs. Gilbert Isbin (acoustic guitar), Jeff Gauthier (violin) and Scott Walton (upright bass, piano) present 16 pearls of musical finesse. There are a few improvisations brought together into Venice Suite ( with Walton on piano) and The Brugge Suite (a duet for violin and guitar). No special effects or abundant contours, just three highly professional musicians who play together under the motto 'back to basics' and this by using original material, (mostly written by Isbin) and an arrangement of Nick Drake's River Man. As adventurous architectures they create very personal patterns and forms. The blue and orange tinges of the cover reflect perfectly the feelings which this music evokes. We think that improvisational chamberjazz is the best description for this music. (GTB)
JAZZAROUND, N°27, 2006, Claude LoxhayLa démarche de Jos Demol, au travers du label Jazz'halo n'est pas sans parallle avec celle de Leo Feigin pour Leo Records : une même fidélité à l'égard des musiciens invités, une même souci d'explorer les chemins de traverse. Révélateur de cet esprit de découverte, son intérèt pour le parcours atypique du guitariste Gilbert Isbin, entre tradition classique et inspiration contemporaine, entre jazz acoustique et musique improvisée. Après 'Blue Sounds and Touches' gravé pour le label anglais HWYL, un projet de duo avec Philippe Deschepper, un autre dédié à la musique de Nick Drake et puis ce 'Water With A Smile' (Jazz'halo) aux parfums brésiliens, gravé en compagnie de la vocaliste Lea Van Loo, voici le résultat d'une rencontre avec deux musiciens croisés à Los Angeles : Le violiniste Jeff Gauthier avec qui le guitariste avait fait différents concerts aux Etats-Unies en février 2004, puis Scott Walton, contrebassiste que Jos Demol avait découvert au sein du quintet du multi-instrumentiste Vinny Golia. Pour cet album enregistré au studio Cryptogramophone de Los Angeles, le répertoire comprend 'the Venice Suite' écrite à trois, avec Scott Walton au piano, 'The Brugge Suite' en duo violon-guitare, puis une série de thèmes composés par Gilbert Isbin comme cet Open Mind qui traduit si bien sa personnalité profonde. Dans cette production entièrement acoustique, on navigue, en compagnie des trois cordes, entre rhythmes virevolants (Shine) et mélodies lyriques à souhait (Why Was That). La rencontre avec Scott Walton n'a rien de fortuit car l'univers de Gilbert Isbin n'est pas sans parenté avec le travail de Nels Cline à la guitare acoustique auprès de Vinny Golia sur l'album 'The Entire Time' pour le label Nine Winds, de Los Angeles. Notons encore que l'album se côlt sur Cute Movements qu'Isbin avait composé avec Luiz Marquez, le saxophoniste de 'Blue Sounds and Touches' et sur 'River Man' une ballade de Nick Drake : la boucle est bouclée.
JAZZFLITS N°20, 24/12/2006, Herman Te Loo, translation from DutchThe Belgian acoustic Gilbert Isbin is a busy guy. Following his Cd with Hurdy-gurdy player Iep Fourier (Avoid A Void) another s one has been released. Although the recordings date from a year ago it was certainly worth waiting, because the trio with the Americans Jeff Gauthier (violin) and Scott Walton (bass and piano) is exceptionally. On the CD 'Venice Suite' they perform especially works of the Belgian, and he knows how to write excellent compostions which cannot be caught into a stylistic genre. It's not really jazz, certainly not modern classical, either worldmusic nor rock. Although bits of these genres can be noticed into this music. Sometimes the music is moody,modest, sometimes danceble, but always melodic, with a light melancholic undertone. Characteristically is that as last piece a Nick Drake composition was chosen. Isbin proved already before to be a fan of the works of this melancholic songwriter with his CD Gilbert Isbin plays Nick Drake' Apart from the melodic work, 'Venice Suite' contains also improvisations (like in the title piece), which have lesser impact than the improvisations on the Isbin wrtitten material.
KWADRATUUR, 07/2007, Koen Van MeelMet akoestische gitaar, viool en contrabas vormen Gilbert Isbin, Jeff Gauthier en Scott Walton geen standaard jazztrio, noch passen ze in het plaatje van de huidige elektronische jazztendensen. Flashy is hun muziek niet meteen te noemen, maar op 'Venice Suite' laten ze wel horen wat lekker ouderwets vakmanschap kan opleveren zonder oubollig te klinken.
Dankzij de samenstelling van het trio is iedere muzikant verzekerd van een eigen register en een eigen terrein. Van onderlinge naijver is dan ook nergens sprake, wat het groepsgeluid ten goede komt: zonder extreem complex te worden demonstreren de heren een secuur en afgelijnd samenspel. Het muzikale evenwicht wordt daarmee uiteraard delicaat, maar buiten de wat zwakke intonatie van Walton in 'Why Was That' houdt het trio alles onder controle.
Het album voorstellen met één exemplarisch nummer is onmogelijk. Daarvoor worden er te veel muzikale uitersten opgezocht. Niet dat de muziek bijzonder eclectisch is, maar het contrast tussen de gecomponeerde tracks en ge•mproviseerde suites is groot.
Het meest toegankelijk zijn de melodische, duidelijk afgelijnde stukjes : geen enkele track komt boven de vijf minuten uit Ð waarin de solistische passages ondergeschikt zijn aan het triospel. Met de zachte sound en de drukkere gitaarpartijen sluit de muziek aan bij chanson en flamenco zonder zich in deze stijlen vast te bijten. Binnen dit kader laveert het trio tussen licht weemoedig, duister en zelfs licht dreigend. 'Shine' wordt gedragen door een stevige contrabasdrive en 'Why Was That' laat een knap uitgewerkt arrangement horen. Andere nummers klinken dan weer vrijer, zoals 'Cute Moments' waarin de drie muzikaal rondcrossend tikkertje lijken te spelen.
In de driedelige suites leert de luisteraar een heel ander trio kennen. Door resoluut te kiezen voor improvisatie wordt het klankbeeld hier minder uitgesproken melodisch. Dat daardoor de samenhang niet verloren hoeft te gaan wordt bewezen in het openingsdeel van 'The Venice Suite' met Walton op piano. Binnen het lossere samenspel gebruiken de drie muzikanten muzikale bewegingen die nauw bij elkaar aansluiten, zonder dat er van een allesoverheersende melodie sprake is. Daarna verschuift de muziek in de richting van het mistige impressionisme (Satie zonder de duidelijke melodie) om in het slotdeel helemaal de kaart van de klank te trekken. Bij aanvang kruipen de drie nog samen omhoog, maar daarna wriemelen ze tintelend door elkaar en worden de snaren van de verschillende instrumenten op minder gangbare manieren bewerkt.
Voor de tweede suite, 'The Brugge Suite', is de bezetting beperkt tot het duo Isbin-Gauthier, waarbij deze laatste door het stevig aanstrijken flirt met de muziek van Bartok, waarna de muziek een meer melodische, maar wel eerder abstracte wending neemt: van vlotte meefluiters is er hier geen sprake.
Door de finesse van het geluid en het delicate samenspel lonkt het trio Isbin-Gauthier-Walton naar de klankwereld van een band als Tin Hat. Waar deze Amerikanen echter een veel breder klankpallet kunnen mobiliseren, blijven Isbin en co door het bescheiden instrumentarium eerder beperkt. Ze compenseren dit deels door het werken met verschillende spelconcepten, maar iets meer kleur had deze cd een verfrissend extraatje kunnen geven.
Koen Van Meel
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Venice Suite is a beautiful, if rather poe-faced collection of instrumental jazz
HET NIEUWSBLAD 21/12/2006, Stefaan Van VolsemGilbert Isbin raakt met zijn muziek wereldwijd
Gilbert Isbin uit Sint-Andries trok naar Los Angeles om een full-cd op te nemen met violist Jeff Gauthier en bassist-pianist Scott Walton. Het resultaat: Venice Suite. Gilbert Isbin blijft ook op zijn 53ste een bezige bij. In het voorjaar bracht hij een plaat uit met de Blankenbergse draailierspeler Iep Fourier.
Intussen heeft hij alweer een album uit: Venice Suite, vorig jaar in november opgenomen in Los Angeles, samen met violist Jeff Gauthier en bassist-pianist Scott Walton. Hoewel Isbin met zijn muziek een klein publiek bereikt, reikt zijn fanbase over de hele wereld. "Ik krijg reacties van uit alle windstreken. Dat is te danken aan het internet. Het wereldwijde web draagt ertoe bij dat je zielsverwante muziekliefhebbers makkelijker kan bereiken", meent Isbin.
Hij profiteert ook van de verspreiding van zijn muziek. "Ik werk aan een compositieopdracht voor de Italian Guitar Society.''
Op zijn nieuwe cd staan o.a. twee suites: The Venice Suite en The Brugge Suite , geïmproviseerde stukken, bestaande uit telkens drie aan elkaar gelinkte bouwstenen. "Het resultaat is een heel eind weg van jazz", vindt Isbin. "Ik zou de plaat als hedendaagse klassieke muziek omschrijven. We hebben trouwens erg snel opgenomen. In nauwelijks twee dagen hebben we met zijn drieën alles ingeblikt." (svv)
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Gilbert Isbin vult al jaren een bijzondere plek binnen het muzieklandschap. Isbin maakt muziek voor fijnproevers, muziek die voor de luisteraar enige inspanning vergt. Zelf omschrijft hij zijn muziek als eigentijdse klassieke gitaarmuziek. Onlangs zag ik hem gelabeld als kamerjazz. Iets tussen klassiek en jazz dus. Isbin heeft al een omvangrijk oeuvre bij elkaar gespeeld en gecomponeerd. En daar komt nog een CD bij : Venice Suite. Isbin speelt hier samen met violist Jeff Gauthier en bassist-pianist Scott Walton. Op het nieuwe schijfje vinden we The Venice Suite en The Brugge Suite. Stuk voor stuk brokken zuiver muziek, zonder franjes. Isbin bewerkt opnieuw een nummer van Nick Drake, River Man. Eerder maakte hij al een CD met werk van deze legendarische songwriter. Isbin een goede medicijn tegen muzikale oppervlakkigheid maar net als bij echte geneesmiddelen hou je best de dosering in de gaten.