Indonesian guitar legend, Dewa Budjana is offering his nearly ambitious album to date, "Zentuary." Supported yesteryear an all-star cast of enormous proportions -- including jazz legend, Jack DeJohnette (over 40 years on the ECM label), the iconic progressive bass in addition to stickman, Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel; King Crimson), in addition to the extraordinary superstar sideman talents of Britain's Gary Husband (Allan Holdsworth; John McLaughlin) -- Budjana offers a profusion of cross-cultural delicacies which tease, cajole, enthrall and, ultimately, satisfy listeners. Special guests include guitarist Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats; Steven Wilson, Tim Garland (Chick Corea; Bill Bruford) in addition to Danny Markovich (Marbin).
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 veteran thespian whose career has already been marked yesteryear collaborations with a virtual "who's who" of musical luminaries, Budjana yet manages to enhance the stakes in addition to nurture the grade of his game on his 5th solo album.
Budjana's compositions are as detailed, finely honed in addition to richly designed as ever, but Zentuary too features around of his nearly open-ended function to date. The easygoing groove in addition to singable subject to "Uncle Jack," for example, deceptively bookends an 11-minute collective blowout, where DeJohnette puts downward his drum sticks and, bolstered yesteryear Husband's as inimitable kit work, moves to pianoforte for the flat-out freest rails of the set. Ebbing in addition to flowing with a chemical scientific discipline all the to a greater extent than remarkable for a gist grouping of musicians—well-known names all—who stimulate got never played together earlier inwards whatsoever permutation or combination, it's a clear demonstration of Budjana's increasing comfort inwards such improv-heavy environs.
Zentuary's opener, "Dancing Tear," begins with a soundscape of plaintive vocals layered atop fretless nylon-string guitar in addition to synth bolstered yesteryear Husband in addition to Levin's foreboding musical rhythm department work. But inside a mere 60 seconds everything changes as a to a greater extent than frenetic vibe emerges, with Levin's electrical upright in addition to Husband's effusive kit function driving a thematic, arpeggio-driven build clearly referencing John McLaughlin's lifelong west-meets-east explorations...though this time, it's to a greater extent than appropriately east-meets-west.
Budjana takes the kickoff solo, in addition to it's a career-defining plow that still, fuzz-toned in addition to staggeringly virtuosic as it is, never dissolves into flashy excess; instead, it's 1 of the nearly impassioned, beautifully constructed solos he's always delivered—and it's yet only Zentuary's kickoff track. If at that spot are whatsoever suggestions that his masterful technique is relegated only to overdriven electrical instruments, Budjana right away follows that solo with a second, this fourth dimension on nylon-string guitar, edifice to its ain thrilling climax. Husband closes the melody with a synth solo of epic Mahavishnu Orchestra proportions...no surprise, perhaps, given that Husband has been keyboardist in addition to percussionist of alternative for over a decade inwards MO founder John McLaughlin's electrical current quaternary Dimension group—which is, coincidentally, inwards grooming to revisit the Mahavishnu Orchestra's legacy for an upcoming North American tour.
Knotty contrapuntal ideas mesh with the complex polyrhythms that crusade Zentuary's largely episodic writing. Zentuary may smooth a rigid spotlight on Budjana, but it too provides enough of infinite for Husband—a instrumentalist who kickoff garnered a reputation for his unrelenting virtuosity behind the drum kit, but who has increasingly proven only as impressive on keyboards, whether it's contributing a motif-driven acoustic pianoforte solo to the ferocious "Solas PM" (also featuring beau Moonjune label mate/soprano saxophonist Danny Markovitch) or mind-bending synthesizer function on the next "Lake Takengon," where DeJohnette assumes Zentuary's drum chair for the kickoff fourth dimension on the record, demonstrating that as stylistically far-reaching as his reputation has long been considered, at nearly 75 he yet has the capacity to surprise inwards the best of ways.
The album's to a greater extent than aggressive opinion lastly takes a breather on "Sunikala," with its to a greater extent than ambling groove driven as much yesteryear Levin's muscular but spare bass lines as it is Husband's similarly spartan backbeat. Introducing the kickoff of ii appearances yesteryear the Czech Symphony Orchestra, its lush textures lean to a greater extent than towards a progressive stone feel...no surprise, given Levin's long association with the genre as a member, inwards add-on to his tenure with Peter Gabriel, of all but 1 King Crimson lineup since 1980. The tune's progressive ambience is farther supported yesteryear invitee guitarist Guthrie Govan, who contributes a solo as viscerally soaring as whatsoever of his existing function as a fellow member of the ability trio Aristocrats in addition to as a onetime fellow member of progressive singer/songwriter Steven Wilson's band from 2012-2015, heard on the ex-Porcupine Tree founder's The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) (Kscope, 2013) in addition to 2015 follow-up concept album, Hand. Cannot. Erase (Kscope), with others.
Beyond contributing a wonderfully finger-picked acoustic guitar solo that follows Govan on "Sunikala," the persuasion that Budjana would recruit such a highly regarded, masterful in addition to evocative guitarist—truly a guitarist's guitarist—into his ain projection only speaks to the Indonesian's innate humility in addition to wish to create everything possible to serve the music. By this fourth dimension inwards his relatively curt career on the international jazz scene, he's already good yesteryear the postulate to test himself, but recruiting a guitarist of Govan's repute is as much a reflection of Budjana the human as it is Budjana the musician.
Levin's reputation has, for the yesteryear iv decades, been largely inwards the progressive stone sphere, thence it's tardily to forget that he kickoff emerged as a jazz bassist inwards the mid-to-late '60s, with an early on career résumé filled with impressive names ranging from Mike Mainieri, Buddy Rich in addition to Deodato to Herbie Mann, Ben Sidran in addition to Gary Burton. Driven yesteryear DeJohnette's signature cymbal function in addition to coming earlier Budjana's ain searing, linguistically rich function on "Dear Yulman," the bassist takes a commanding electrical upright solo whose lyrical touches, deep-in-the-gut resonance, personal idiosyncrasies in addition to reverence to the catch of the vocal would live unmistakably identifiable, fifty-fifty if his mention wasn't listed inwards the credits.
If it's truthful that nosotros are all the confluence of our ain lives' experiences, thence Levin is but 1 of Zentuary's many examples of how these particular players test non only capable of bringing whatsoever in addition to all of their extant career function to bear, but are as expert at coming together novel contexts caput on, inwards this instance Budjana's infusion of Gamelan—though, inwards Levin's case, his early on days inwards Crimson were informed yesteryear this specifically Javanese in addition to Balinese music—and other musical concepts unique to Indonesia.
Track Listing:
CD 1:
1. Dancing Tears;
2. Solas PM;
3. Lake Takengon;
4. Sunikala;
5. Dear Yulman;
6. Rerengat Langit (Crack inwards the Sky).
CD 2:
1. Pancaroba;
2. Manhattan People;
3. Dedariku;
4. Ujung Galuh;
5. Uncle Jack;
6. Zentuary.
Personnel:
Dewa Budjana: all guitars, soundscapes;
Tony Levin: electrical upright NS Design bass (CD1#1-5, CD2#1-5), Chapman Stick (CD1#6);
Gary Husband: drums (CD1#1-2, CD1#4, CD1#6, CD2#1, CD2#4-5); keyboards in addition to acoustic pianoforte (CD1, CD2#1-4);
Jack DeJohnette: drums (CD1#3, CD1#5, CD2#2-3), acoustic pianoforte (CD2#5);
Danny Markovitch: curved soprano saxophone (CD1#2, CD2#4);
Tim Garland: tenor saxophone (CD2#2);
Guthrie Govan: guitar solo (CD1#4);
Saat Syah: custom-made Indonesian suling flute (CD1#6, CD2#3);
Ubiet: vocals (CD1#3);
Risa Saraswati: vocals (CD1#6);
Czech Symphony Orchestra, conducted yesteryear Michaela Růžičková: orchestra (CD1#4, CD2#6).
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