The drummer and composer Pierre Favre presents new compositions after his last release, Singing Drums (Intakt CD 049). For this release, this «poet of the drums» has extended his quartet «Singing Drums» to an octet with a guitar, viola, violin and bass.
Pierre Favre unfolds his compositions into tonal spaces, rich in contrast, using his percussion arsenal and a fragile string trio. He thus offers the soloists Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone) and Michel Godard (tuba/serpent) many possibilities for their fantastic excursions. Several of the themes give off a breath of melancholy, others are dance-like, where the rhythm follows the melody in complex lines. «Cheerfulness and sadness weave together like in real life,» says Pierre Favre in the liner notes. «One cries in laughter and one laughs in tears.»
Pierre Favre is not only one of the most musically minded freelance drummers in modern jazz yet also leads the charmingly inventive quartet known as 'Singing Drums'. And with his latest endeavor titled European Chamber Ensemble, the maestro extends his quartet with the addition of a dual string section, guitar and bass.
Tracks
01. Amarcord D'un Ross
02. Ederlreh an der Bar
03. In Caso Di Nebbia
04. Music 4+7
05. Sito
06. Rosa's Pink Hat
07. La Valse
08. Passage
09. Le Scorpion
10. Mort D'eurydice
11. L'homme Qui Rit
12. A tree, A Rock, A Cloud
13. Colonel Sorbet
PIERRE FRAVRE percussion
LUCAS NIGGLI percussion
ROBERTO OTTAVIANO saxophone
MICHEL GODARD tuba, serpent
PHILIPP SCHAUFELBERGER guitar
KAREL BOESCHOTEN violin
MARIUS UNGUREANU viola
PIERRE-FRANÇOIS MASSY bass
All compositions by Pierre Favre.
Recorded at Radio Studio Zürich, October 1999
Intakt Records Intakt CD 062
https://pierrefavre.bandcamp.com