Ships and Shepherds
Alex Maguire and Nikolas Skordas Duo
Alex Maguire: piano
Nikolas Skordas: tenor and soprano saxophones, gaida (bagpipe) , tarogato, flutes, bells, whistles
Special guests: Don Stavrinos: trumpet, flugelhorn & Stathis Diamantidis: double bass
DISC 1
01 ANCHORITES 04:36 ALEX PIANO /NIKOLAS GAIDA MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
02 COSMIC SOURCES 10:38 ALEX PIANO/ NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX SKORDAS
03 WILD FLOWER (BASED ON THE TRADITIONAL GREEK MELODY MARADOS) 08:15 ALEX PIANO /NIKOLAS TENOR SAX MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
04 PORTRAIT OF A SAINT 02:15 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
05 POLIPHEMOS 06:27 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
06 ATHOS 04:10 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
07 TWILIGHT AT VATOPEDI 08:03 SOLO PIANO MAGUIRE
DISC 2
08 ACROTERION 03:35 SOLO SOPRANO SAX SKORDAS
09 PATHWAY 08:27 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX SKORDAS
10 LABYRINTH 11:17 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX/DON STAVRINOS (TRUMPET & FLUGELHORN)/STATHIS DIAMANTIDIS (DOUBLE BASS)
SKORDAS
11 LOGISMS OF MIND.. 06:46 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX SKORDAS
12 THREE FINGERS 07:42 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
13 OLYMPOS 05:57 ALEX PIANO/NIKOLAS SOPRANO SAX MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
14 SHIPS AND SHEPHERDS 04:12 ALEX PIANO //NIKOLAS TENOR SAX, WHISTLES ,GAIDA,BELLS MAGUIRE/SKORDAS
TOTAL TIME = 01:43:06
RECORDING DETAILS:
Recorded live on 22 & 23 November 2016 at Lizard Sound, Athens, Greece by
Recorded by Dimitris Karpouzas Assistant engineering :Giannis Gargalakos
Mixed and mastered by Konstantinos Fragkopoulos 12/01/2017 at Shellac Studios , Thessaloniki, GREECE
Alex Maguire, piano; Nicolas Skordas, soprano sax, tenor sax, gaida, bells, penny whistles; Plus on some tracks: Don Stavrinos, trumpet, flicker; Stathis Diamantidis : double bass Recorded live in Athens, Greece, November 2016
The music on the first of these 2 CDs is highly emotive, as is gathered from the album title. There is a romance, deeply expressed, though with sporadic steely edges. The music roils warmly. Both tracks 4 and 5 relax this, both less musically archaic and more contemporaneously abstract. The final track on CD1 reverts to its earlier character, thus setting the scene for the changes due in CD2.
Significantly, the tenor of the second CD is even more abstract, more incorporeal, the music ascending to a different plane of experimentation. Throughout CD1 there was an atmosphere of a close musical discourse between the two players and this even more remarkable in CD2. Whilst there are sometimes longer pieces of solo work, the return of the second instrument is always assured and the improvisation sweeping and confident.
Ships and Shepherds has emerged from a close liaison between musicians with a common wish to express something of the heart of ancient Greek music, but in the manner of today’s idioms and genres.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham http://www.jazzviews.net/alex-maguirenikolas-skordas-duo---ships--shepherds.html