Samo Šalamon Trio feat. Michel Godard & Roberto Dani
Sclavis/Davis/Rainey “Eldorado Trio”
Chucho Valdes & The Afro-Cuban Messengers
30 June, Križanke
At Križanke Maribor-based guitarist Samo Šalamon, according to Guitar Player “one of the hottest ten new guitarists of the world”, joined forces with currently one of the leading tuba players, Michel Godard, who on this occasion also played electric bass, as well as well-versed and versatile drummer Roberto Dani. Šalamon played several of his lyrical compositions, reaching the pinnacle of the concert with the last, longer piece, where the synergy of the band and the signature of each of the soloists were fully expressed.
Entirely different atmosphere pervaded the concert by saxophonist and clarinettist Louis Sclavis, who in conjunction with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Tom Rainey played an unusual fusion, based on hard bop in free jazz traditions, featuring intensive and specific solos, which despite frequent deviations into ostensible atonality always unravelled into harmonies, typical of various jazz and classical aesthetics.
The jazz evening at Križanke culminated with the performance of the Latin jazz ambassador Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers. The legendary Cuban pianist played a fairly atypical Cuban jazz, at times finding base in pioneer modal jazz in the style of Miles Davis or George Russel, and then again in utterly (Central) African rhythmic patterns, while the sax player Carlos Manuel Miyares Hernandez’s solos occasionally verged on free jazz. The outstanding trumpet player, Reinaldo Melián Álvarez, centred his solos on the genuine Cuban ambiance. In his solos, Chucho Valdés draw inspiration from diverse music idioms, while his melancholy Doric renditions synchronised well with the diversified rhythms of the excellent percussion section. The pianist’s sister, vocalist Mayra Caridad Valdés, also joined the band to perform several songs, enchanting the listeners and making them sing, chant and clap.
Andraž Jež
