Here we have that big soundtrack style production within a multi-sectional arrangement that often uses Indonesian gamelon type figures. Album opener, and title track, “Naurora”, displays what Budjana is best at. The best tracks on “Naurora” come early on with the first three leading the way. Eighty minutes of music can be fatiguing, whereas about forty minutes seems to be just about right. “Naurora” continues a trend we have been seeing more of lately, and that is a CD whose length is equal to the length of a vinyl LP. Many well known guests join Dewa on this one, including Joey Alexander, Gary Husband, Dave Weckl, Paul McCandless and many more.
Better choose one of the two-decades old releases, as a rule they are better for sure.Īfter excursions into hard rock and classical music, “Naurora” finds Dewa Budjana returning to what he does best, performing jazz fusion flavored with the sounds of southern and eastern Asia, progressive rock and big cinematic arrangements. True, for the old band's fans this release is a reminder of sort how great the original Masada was at their time.
Nothing revolutionary can be found here, not even high-energy ecstatic danceable, as on many recordings from the last century, and unfortunately - not even catchy melodies are presented.
#Mudic fusion free#
There is still a lot of Klezmer in the new album's music, a spark or a few of guitar/sax free soloing and a lot of mid tempo melancholy. If electric Masada was an Yiddish free jazz metal on steroids, New Masada Quartet sounds more like four seasoned veterans' unhurried conversation about the time they were young sitting under still-warm autumn sun. Twenty years later, this new incarnation includes the guitarist Julian Lage, the bassist Jorge Roeder, and the drummer Kenny Wollesen. Electric Masada modifications in the beginning of the new Millennium was a true bomb, an explosive mix of heavy metal and free jazz scented with Near East knotty tunes. The original acoustic Masada, presented at the end of the last century was an innovative and partially genre-defining John Zorn project with Dave Douglas, Greg Cohen, and Joey Baron combining Klezmer and free jazz. One surprise is a reading of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” which becomes a jazz standard with a few chord extensions here and there. On the solo CD, Nicolas covers several jazz standards and shows he is no slouch on the jazz tip with his broad open sound similar to Pat Metheny or Bill Frisell. On the live CD, Jones occasionally uses an echo device which gives the band an expansive psychedelic sound. Particularly noteworthy is how Jones will add counter melodies on the violin behind Meier’s guitar solos.
The band has very balanced interactions in which soloists and accompanists blend to make an ensemble sound of intertwining voices. Nicolas is an excellent composer with a gift for remarkable melodies that capture the sounds of the different regions that inspire him, which he then presents with art pop gem like structures reminiscent of artists like Brian Wilson or Brian Eno. His original compositions breathe these various musical styles in a very natural way. Such is not the case with Meier who displays a deep understanding and commitment to the cultures he is interested in. We are all familiar with western artists such as Paul Simon or David Byrne who plunder other cultures and then cast them aside. Much of the music from the aforementioned cultures leans heavily on unfretted string instruments that allow for the colorful ornaments that are added to the melodies. His ensemble, with its mix of violin, unfretted guitar, high end fretless bass and hand percussion is perfect for this style of music. Nicolas’ compositions draw from a mix of Spanish, Turkish, Balkan, Middle-Eastern and North African influences. In fact, “Live” is made up of the same tracks that were featured on “Peaceful”, only performed in front of an audience this time around. The group is the same one that recorded the previous “Peaceful”, Kevin Glasgow on bass, Richard Jones on violin, Demi Garcia-Sabat on percussion and Nicolas on a variety of guitars. First there is “Magnificent”, a studio album featuring his ‘World Group’ ensemble, then there is, “Live”, which is the same group recorded in concert, and finally, “Stories”, which is Nicolas performing solo. On Nicolas Meier’s latest album he decided to give his fans an extra treat, in that what we have here is not one, or two, but three CDs of excellent music.
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