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| MoonJune Records 2015 Year-in-Review Dear Friends in Music I am wishing to all of You an ultra Happy 2016, full of music, peace, love and harmony. Yours in Music Leonardo Pavkovic MoonJune Music New York MOONJUNE REORDS in 2015 2015 has been a banner year for MoonJune Records - one marked by powerful debuts and brilliant follow-ups, alike. It was a year that started strong, never looked back and just kept building momentum. It began with the MJR debut of the New York based Yagull, "Kai". While the first Yagull album, 2013's well-received "Films" was essentially a solo effort (assisted by a supporting cast) on the part of founder, Sasha Markovic, "Kai" saw the group expand to a duo at its core with the addition of Sasha's wife, pianist Kana Kamitsubo. The album was named after the couple's newly-born son and featured some stellar guest work from Dewa Budjana, Beledo and Marko Djordjevic. Like its predecessor, the album was a moving, visceral effort - scoring exceptionally high marks with reviewers across the globe. Next up was the psychedelic electric ethno-jazz-with-a-twist of the Indonesian band simakDialog, and their double-CD live performance documentary, "Live At Orion'. Featuring their signature winding, adventurous exploits and some scintillating individual efforts, the band took their music to new heights. A guest appearance by Beledo, augmented proceedings and capped off a very special evening - one that those in attendance still rave about. On the heels of simakDialog's live album was the international debut of Tesla Manaf. His initial offering for MoonJune encompassed work he did in 2011, combined with his most recent creative work. The result was a stunning, critically-heralded album that signaled the arrival of a vital new voice in the annuls of jazz guitar, with his brilliance and originality as a composer sharing an equal billing. With the new year already in high gear, the stage was set for the release of Indonesian master guitarist, composer and producer, Dewa Budjana, and his fourth solo album for MoonJune. "Hasta Karma" received rave reviews around the world, with soaring compositions and ingenious arrangements, beautifully interpreted and articulately expressed by the brilliant core group of Budjana, NY legend, Joe Locke, on vibraphone, and the Pat Metheny Unity Group's core foundation of the inspiring Ben Williams on upright bass, and the otherworldly timekeeping of the great Antonio Sanchez. The album represented Budjana's strongest work to date: progressive jazz as majestic and regal as it was warm, intimate and personal. The label's debut of American-bvorn British guitarist Mark Wingfield was presented in a trio format - featuring the radiant, sensitive support work of fellow UK transplants, bassist Yaron Stavi and drummer Asaf Sirkis - "Proof of Light" trumpeted the arrival of another truly world-class guitarist and composer to the MoonJune fold. Mark's approach to expression on guitar is radically innovative, carrying the electric guitar to bold, exciting and previously unreachable pinnacles. Critics around the world were virtually unanimous is their high praise for this spellbinding effort. Next up was the eagerly awaited follow-up from Ligro, the free-form powerhouse trio spearheaded by Indonesian guitarist extraordinaire, Agam Hamzah. "Dictionary 3" was as staggering in its delivery and it was in its ambition, as fans witnessed the band push its music – and any semblance of musical boundaries! - to even greater heights. The debut of the Barcelona, Spain, based avant-prog power duo XADU, featuring Catalan drummer, Xavi Reija and Serbian guitarist Dusan Jevtovic, appropriately titled "Random Abstract" was a bold, profound exploration into minimalism and spontaneous interaction, exploring the vast purlieu of musical expression, while empathically dismissing any preconceptions and embracing the magic of the moment at hand. Rounding out the year in fine style, were two more releases: a long-awaited 4th effort of the Italian eclectic jazz-rock masters Slivovitz, entitled "All You Can Eat", and another MoonJune debut of the Indonesian maestro Dwiki Darmawan, with his album, "So Far So Close". For those of you who may have thought Slivovitz had reached their peak with 2011's epic, "Bani Ahead", you are in for a most pleasant surprise! The album finds the band pushing their ensemble format, and each other, to even greater heights - with brilliant compositions, dense, intricate arrangements and emotion-drenched solos of the highest order. Dwiki Dharnawan is an Indonesian icon - a true cultural ambassador, and a luminous keyboardist, pianist, composer, producer, cultural events organizer and peace activist. His album "So Far So Close" is reminiscent of fusion's 'golden years' - where deft compositions were on equal footing with unbridled improvisations and a zealous creative spark. All in all, it's a powerful debut and showcases the genre in manner which is both supreme and refreshingly accessible. Featuring progressive fusion legends Jimmy Haslip, Chad Wackerman, Jerry Goodman, in addition to two most famous Indonesian guitarists, Dewa Budjana and Tohpati. write your comments about the article :: © 2015 Jazz News :: home page |