Critic 35th Anniversary Leo Records

Music Zoom 2015

Il titolo del disco si riferisce al festival tenuto a Mosca al DOM (centro culturale) pieno stracolmo con 400 ascoltatori per il quartetto di veterani della Leo Records. Sono il tedesco
Frank Gratkowski al sax alto, al clarinetto ed al clarinetto basso ed i russi Simon Nabatov (ma ormai residente a Colonia) al pianoforte, Alexey Kruglov al sax alto ed al corno di bassetto e Oleg Yudanov alla batteria ed alle percussioni. Si tratta di un set di musica tipicamente free in cui si stabilisce una bella intesa con il pubblico, rapito dall´energia che proviene dal palco. Gli intrecci dei fiati su Home Free sono proprio deliranti e rappresentano perfettamente l´estetica del free. Su House Games i dialoghi fra i due si fanno più rarefatti, il brano cresce fino a che verso il finale arrivano anche al batteria ed il pianoforte a creare un´ondata di libertà in piena che tutto travolge.
Hitting It Home ha un aspetto generale più scuro, Gratkowski passa al clarinetto basso e il pianoforte di Nabatov si lascia andare a grevi accordi che danno all´esecuzione un tono quasi misterioso. La stessa atmosfera carica di aspettative, di situazionii in cui tutto sembra possibile da un momento all´altro, caratterizza Our Digs. Il pubblico applaude e subito dopo arriva il bis che chiude il concerto,
Homecoming, che comincia con gli squitti del sax alto e Nabatov che imperversa sulla tastiera. I quattro si divertono e con loro il pubblico, il corno di bassetto di Kruglov fa il suo intervento mentre la musica vira dopo l´esplosione iniziale verso un momento più statico prima che si chiuda il concerto. La relativa brevità del disco, sui 43 minuti, favorisce la compattezza della musica e la relativa ricezione al di là dell´evento live.

Vittorio

Bad Alchemy July 2015

Im Oktober 2014 fand ein 3. Internationales Leo Records Festival in Moskau statt. 2015, so weit ich weiß, keines mehr. 2014 bot sich ein weiterer Grund zum Feiern an, wie Leo Records 35th Anniversary Moscow (LR 719) verrät, der Festivalauftritt von FRANK GRATKOWSKI, ALEXEY KRUGLOV, SIM(i)ON NABATOV & OLEG YUDANOV am 13.10. im DOM.

Die stellten im enthusiastischen Zusammenklang von Bassklarinette, Klarinette, Flöte, Bassetthorn und zweier
Altosaxophone auf dem krummen und buckligen Terrain, das die massive Pianistik von Nabatov und Yudanovs Perkussion bereiten, das Offene als ihr Zuhause vor. Tirilierend, quäkend, furzend, knatternd und plötzlich doch
auch melodienselig und regenbogentrunken die einen, klimpernd, klopfend, rumpelnd, rasselnd die andern. Nabatov entfaltet zu Yudanovs Rascheln, Klicken und Pochen mit einer träumerischen Rechten und einer rumorenden Linken die ganze Spannweite des Offenseins, die Bläser füllen es so kontrastreich wie mit dem poetischen 'Our Digs' und dem anfangs fetzig furiosen 'Homecoming', das über holziges und blechernes Getocke in
gefauchten Naturlauten mündet, in Regen und Wind.

Rigobert Dittmann

Orkhestra France

La toute première rencontre entre deux improvisateurs Russes et deux Allemands fut enregistrée au 3e festival Leo à Moscou le 13 octobre 2014. Le niveau de musicalité est si élevé, l'écoute respective et l'ardeur de jeu si parfaites, la réponse du public si intense qu'ils terminent le set dans un torrent d'applaudissements. Un triomphe sans précédent et un quartette free européen dans toute sa splendeur.

Jazz Weekly September 2015

...The free music here on the five songs includes some buzzing bas clarinet on “Home Free,” chirping bird calls and chipmunk sounds as the drums flail on “House Games,” altissimo clarinet and swirling bass clarinet amongst kinetic percussion on “Hitting It Home” as well as some reeds resembling hovercraft over the dark keys on “Our Digs” before the concert ends in a cataclysmic “Homecoming.” Overwhelming chops used to create some otherworldly sounds.

George W. Harris

The Whole Note November 2015

Anniversaries of record companies usually only serve as a reminder of the longevity implicit in cannily peddling particular products. But the commemoration associated with this CD is more profound. Recorded at the initial Moscow concert of a quartet consisting of two Russians – Alexey Kruglov playing alto saxophone and basset horn and percussionist Oleg Yudanov – plus Germans, pianist Simon Nabatov and alto saxophonist/clarinetist Frank Gratkowski, the five tracks pinpoint the cooperative skills of players from both countries. Providing a forum for Russian free improvisers to demonstrate their advanced expertise was one of the reasons London-based Leo Records was founded 35 years ago. That neither the Eastern nor Western players can be distinguished on the basis of talent or sound on this celebratory disc is a tribute to the label's ideas.
Russian-born and American-educated Nabatov provides the perfect linkage among the band members. The grandeur of his cascading runs on Our Digs for instance, creates emotional underpinning for the reedists' atmospheric whispering; plus his emphasized wooden key stops provide the climax. At the same time he clatters phrases on the keys and slams the instrument's frame to amplify the piano's percussiveness on Homecoming, locking in with Yudanov's smacks and rolls, never unduly forceful in themselves. Marathon-speed chording also adds to the saxophonists' expositions that mix harsh Aylerian smears with reed textures as broad as wide-bore scanners. While as indistinguishable as corn stalks in a field, when alto saxophone bites emanate from both players, identifying resonation distinguishes Gratkowski's bass clarinet and Kruglov's basset horn on the reed showcase Hitting It Home. Exchanges between the Russian's warbling yelps and the German's sonorous hums that could be sourced from an underwater grotto are ornamented by the pianist's ringing timbres and shaped into a pleasing narrative.
Since outsiders rarely associate Germans or Russians with humour, House Games is particularly instructive, when the woodwind players' choked yelps and snarling pants make the exposition sound like an aural Punch and Judy show – and just as violent. However this tongue splattering and note spewing is eventually harmonized into a manageable melody by the pianist's romantic interludes.
Overall, Leo's more than three-decade-old promise is fulfilled with a connective session such as this one.

Ken Waxman

JazzFlits July 2016 Holland

Anderhalf jaar geleden bestond het toonaangevende avant- gardelabel Leo Records 35 jaar. Reden om een feestje te geven, en wel op een plek waar het 35 jaar geleden onmogelijk was geweest: Moskou. Leo Feigin startte namelijk zijn label met opnamen die de toenmalige Sovjet-Unie uit gesmokkeld waren. Niet dat het onder Poetin nu veel gezelliger is, maar op cultureel gebied is er anno nu veel meer mogelijk. Met dit kwartet met twee muzikanten uit de Keulse scene (rietblazer Frank Grat- kowski en pianist Simon Nabatov) en twee Russische top- improvisatoren (rietblazer Alexey Kruglov en drummer Oleg Yudanov) moest duidelijk worden waar Leo Records na 35 jaar nog steeds voor staat. En dat is: improvisatiemuziek op het scherpst van de snede, met een vaak intuïtief aanvoelen waar de stroom van de muziek heen moet vloeien. Het viertal, dat elkaar nog nooit eerder in deze samenstelling trof, start behoed- zaam met het aftasten van elkaars mogelijkheden. Langzaam groeit de muzikale dichtheid en intensiteit in het openingsstuk, 'Home free'. Als die opbouw in de tweede improvisatie op een zelfde wijze plaatsvindt, dreigt enige eenvormigheid, maar ge- lukkig wordt dat snel onderkend. 'Our digs' blijft rondcirkelen in een oersoep van de blazers met daarin pareltjes van de piano en knisperend slagwerkgeritsel. Bij het slotstuk, 'Homecoming' wordt de vorm van het begin omgedraaid en dendert het kwar- tet meteen de speakers uit, om naar het einde toe steeds meer gas terug te nemen. Onderweg valt veel te genieten, want dit blijven stuk voor stuk impro-sterren.

Herman te Loo