Vassilis Tsabropoulos/Anja Lechner
Melos
ECM
By George W. Harris

This is the kind of product that ECM was made for: a lovely, brooding collection of spacious and moody music that will grab your soul. The duo20of pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos and violincellist Anja Lechner go through 15 songs that range from just under 2 minutes to 8 and change; the mood is filled with Mediterannean and Iberian shadows, narrow winding streets and radiant dawns. Tsabropoulos’ piano glides, steps and swirls, while Lechner provides rhythmic support or bowed melodic counterpoint. The two go through a set of originals that will evoke images of either nights in the Cyclades or Moorish caravans. The playing is exquisite and radiant. This one will get your attention.