ORQUESTA SALVAJE JORGE SZAJKO: Violins, Violas, Violoncellos, Double Basses, Sacha Violin, Saxophones, Flutes, Piano, Moxeño, Melódica, Spanish Guitar, Oboe, Percussion. PINY LEVALLE: Drums on 1), 3), 5), 6) & 7) PABLO RODRIGUEZ: Bombo Legüero on 1 - a) ENRIQUE BONETTO: Saxophones and Bass Flute on 7) ALEJANDRO CAVALLI: Double Bass on 8 - a) LUIS DE LA TORRE: Drums on 8 - a) FACUNDO GUEVARA: Percussion on 3), 5) & 6) Recorded in Buenos Aires from 1982 to 1999. SLAMCD 246 Bar Code 5 028386 024620

TRACKS: 1. Orquesta Salvaje 11m 40s 2. Piano Salvaje 5 40 3. En Las Ruinas 4 48 4. Marcha De Marginales 5 53 5. Que Todos Oigan 6 37 6. Zamba Tranquila 3 39 7. Chanchos5 38 8. En Memoria -Parte 1, Parte 2 9 20

All Music Guide Francois Couture

Szajko, Jorge Orquesta Salvaje Slam 246 2002 07 01 1982-1999 Out of nowhere comes {$Jorge Szajko} with a fascinating debut album. Discovered by British saxophonist and {@Slam} owner {$George Haslam} on one of his trips to Argentina, Szajko plays violin, viola, cello, double bass, saxophone, flute, piano, guitar, oboe, melodica, and percussion on this multi-tracked extravaganza. A handful of extra musicians lend a hand on a few tracks, especially in the drums and percussion department, but by and far this is a solo project. The music includes strong influences from South-American popular music, Latin jazz, left-field improvisation, even a touch of progressive rock’s pomposity. The album was recorded between 1982 and 1999 in Buenos Aires, obviously not always under the best circumstances (sound quality is generally good but the master tapes are not without flaws). Each track (except the piano solo {&³Piano Salvaje²}) is a multitracking tour de force. The title track, a four-part suite lasting 13 minutes, truly is one of a kind. An avant-gardist Argentinian progressive rock symphony (there is simply no other way to describe it), it features a full string section, each track played by Szajko (no synthesizers involved). It has Latin dances, huge orchestral gestures dipped in atonality, and off-kilter drumming by {$Piny Levalle}. The remainder of the album is not always up to that standard, but even the most pedestrian tunes hide a quirk or two in the arrangements. Szajko clearly has a unique musical vision that stretches beyond words. {^Orquesta Salvaje} would have been excellent with better production. Sound quality aside it remains a highly original album and yet listener friendly. François Couture

Jorge Szajko Orquesta Salvaje (SLAM) I'm sorry, Jorge, but I cannot afford a genius grant for you. I would if I could, but at least I can let the world know what I think of this astonishing disc. Orquesta Salvaje is a richly layered tapestry of strings, percussion, and winds that borders on the most progressive jazz produced but stands firmly in an ethnic tradition of rhythmic harmonies and harmonic rhythms. What does that mean? One has to hear the album to know. What's more, and this is most important, is that most of these rich soundstructures are created by one man: Szajko himself. He plays violin, viola, violincello, double bass, Sacha violin, saxes, flutes, piano, Moxeño, Melódica, Spanish guitar, oboe, and percussion. The CD states, "WARNING: Strings section played by Jorge Szajko with acoustic instruments." You are not hearing what you think you are hearing: even the electronic-sounding passages have fooled you. From the first violently sawed notes of a full string orchestra, performed by one man, through his chaotic, yet melodic piano solo, you must know that Jorge has a musical mind that reaches into the infinite. Other musicians that support Szajko's broad vision are reedist Enrique Bonetto, bassist Alejandro Cavalli, and percussionists Piny Levalle, Luis de la Torre, Pablo Rodríguez, and Facundo Guevara. Deep rumblings and light improvisations fight for placement in the stratosphere of Szajko's stage. Just when you think the music cannot get any more transcendent, it does. Recorded between 1982 and 1999, this music needs to be heard by everyone. It is important music. It takes modern culture and blends it with primitive culture perfectly, solidifying the result into a sphere, like an everlasting orange that can be sampled and tasted at one's leisure. The tones, the rhythms, the harmonies: they all compliment each other. The music is dark and ominous and at the same time breathtaking and surreal. I try to not gush about music often, but I guess I get carried away sometimes. Just hear one track from this disc and be catapulted into another mind, the mind of Szajko. I hope this music is remembered. Beyond Coltrane is © 2002 by Fred Barrett

All Anout Jazz, March 2003

Vittorio Lo Conte

I suppose if you climb upon a pedestal to make a statement then it can only be a matter of time before somebody knocks you off, but oh no, not me…I have to jump first! When I started Jazz Views, initially as an email Newsletter and then as the website, I was appalled (like every jazz fan) at the general lack of media interest and exposure given to the music, and was determined that the pieces featured in the Newsletter’s would aim to give maximum exposure to some of the excellent music that is currently being released under the jazz banner! Inevitably, you cannot like everything you listen to, but the intention is and was (and always should be) not to prejudge and make sure that everything is given a fair hearing. However, having said that, I recently found myself guilty of exactly that! Receiving an album, for review that appeared more that just a little out of the norm, by an Argentinean multi-instrumentalist who plays all the instruments you might find in a classical orchestra, in addition to quite a few more that you wouldn’t! I then committed, what with hindsight now seems to be the ultimate sin, of putting to one side "for consideration at a later date". It was then I realised that the "putting to one side" was at once an act of prejudice and perhaps an unwillingness to deal with the unknown and something I might not have felt immediately comfortable with, and it is this very notion that stops a vast majority of people exploring music outside of the narrow confines of what is considered acceptable to receive airplay on our radio stations. To make matters worse, and to reinforce the point the album in question was a revelation! Unlike anything I had previously come across, not merely a juxtaposition of classical music and jazz, but with elements of Argentinean folk music and improvisation. The album in question? ‘Orquestra Salvaje’ by Jorge Szajko, released on the Slam label. To find out more check out this month’s CD Reviews. CD Reviews Month Reviewed: 010 - December 2002 Artist: Jorge Szajko Title: Orchestra Salvaje Label: Slam CD 246 Jorge Szajko (vn, vla, clo, b, sacha vn, saxes, f, p, moxeno, melodica, Spanish g, oboe, perc); Piny LeValle (d); Pablo Rodrigeuz (bombo leguero); Enrique Bonetto (saxes, bfl); Alejandro Cavalli (b); Luis De La Torre (d); Facundo Guevara (perc) Recorded between 1982 & 1999 Over the years saxophonist and SLAM label boss, George Haslam, has travelled far and wide playing with musicians all over Europe and the Americas and has indeed set up a second base for himself in Buenos Aires, hence this release on his label that Haslam himself says of the music on this CD "I find it difficult to describe the music verbally but in my mind this has depth and grandeur." Jorge Szajko is an extraordinary multi-instrumentalist who not only has the technique, but also the concept, to make such a project a wholeheartedly successful. All the tracks are original compositions drawing on influences as diverse as classical music, Argentinean folk music and jazz, and a probably as few other I haven’t picked up on as yet (!) in a cohesive and varied set. The CD opens with a four part suite ‘Orquestra Salvaje which it’s frenetic string introduction leading through it’s four movements, and serves as an appropriate introduction for what it is to follow. We are treated to Jorge’s talents as a pianist on the solo (with no overdubs) ‘Piano Salverje’ which veers between classical forms and free improvisation but refusing to let go of the notion the that there is a clear yet unfettered underlying structure. The highly rhythmic ‘Marcha De Marginales’ again mixes musical genres this time with a strong emphasis on the relationship between the ‘string section’ and percussion; and the joyous exuberance of the horns on ‘Que Todos Oigan’ giving way to Jorge’s alto saxophone solo. The music on this disc was recorded over a seventeen year time span, but retains a strong narrative quality and unity of purpose throughout, as opposed to disparate bunch of tracks thrown to make an album. An absorbing fifty five minutes of music, that surprise and confounds every expectation. As George says, difficult to describe verbally, but an aural delight. Reviewed by Nick Lea, Jazz Views, April 2003