Leo Records roars in the new year…
A mix of messages both verbal and musical are presented here, with Steve Piccolo speaking and giving speeches with vibist Sergio Armaroli and Elliot Sharp on guitar, soprano sax and computer. Piccolo gives social guidance as intros or insertions as on the loose “Abstract 1/Wasting Days” or the recitation with high pitches on “As I Was Saying”. A mix of ambience with vibes and effects serve as draper for Piccolo on “Too Beautiful” with some flailing flying around o “Abstract 2/The Box Man”. Pieces of a puzzle that some times seem forced together.
Sonja Morgensegg/voc-g, Arkady Shikloper/horn, Florian Mayer/vi, John Wolf Brennan/p-mel, Ratus Flisch/b and Tony Majdalani/voc-perc team up for some folksy originals and creative takes of Baby Boomer hits. Sonja is sing-songyon a Middle Eastern take of The Beatles’ “For No One” while going operatic for Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig In The Sky”. With parlor piano, she coos on Yes’ “Soon” and gets frisky on “Hey Bulldog”. There are some peculiar pants by Majdalani on “Der Mongolische Reiter” which almost make you anticipate an evil sounding “My precious”, grunting and chanting on the Israeli “ArabesGuggisbarg” while Flisch lays down an bluesy bass line on “Whistle Song”. Lots of puzzle pieces but is there also a picture on the box top for reference?
For an album dedicated to various women of love, pianist and composer Simon Nabatov brings together a pair of vocalists (Rebekka Ziegler/Tobias Christi), reed players (Sebastian Gille/Leonhard Hugh), brass men (Udo Moll/Janning Trumann), strings (Nathan Bontrager/Stefan Schonegg) and drummer (Dominik Mahnig)for nine free form and loose “compositions”. There are pretty vocals on “Clara”, an oasis in the midst of the scratches and bow swaying of “Ella”, a Neopolitan traffic jam of horns during “Sylvia”, plucking and picking bass and ivories in a random fashion of “Anais” and floating horns the flit on “Georgia” and the spontaneous combustion of “Amour Fou”. Not exactly Julio Iglesias or Willie Nelson!!