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FREEDOM
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CD 520
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The Quartet was assembled by Stefano Pastor specifically to record some of his compositions and other improvised pieces, making up the suite ‘FREEDOM’. A very unusual line-up, violin, 2 reeds and double bass, the session was recorded in Genova, Italy, August 2009. This CD is also available by digital download:
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CD title ‘FREEDOM’
Catalogue number SLAMCD 520
Stefano Pastor violin
George Haslam baritone sax, tarogato
Claudio Lugo soprano sax
Giorgio Dini double bass
The tracks:
1 Freedom 5:35 comp: Pastor, Haslam. Lugo. Dini.
2 Rebellion 4:52 comp: Pastor, Haslam. Lugo. Dini.
3 Emancipation 7:21 comp: Pastor, Haslam. Lugo. Dini.
4 Elevation 6:07 comp: Pastor
5 Dance 4:05 comp: Pastor
6 Opposition 4:05 comp: Pastor
7 Meditation 9:38 comp: Pastor, Haslam. Lugo. Dini.
8 Freedom 3:20 comp: Pastor, Haslam. Lugo. Dini. (alternate take)
Rec. 1 August. 2008 at Villa Parodi, Genova, Italy.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Stefano Pastor.
Stefano Pastor, George Haslam, Claudio Lugo, Giorgio Dini – FREEDOM:The CD/album title on this one is like an understatement… in point of fact, you'll probably wonder as you listen to the title track, "Freedom", if this one shouldn't be titled "Near Pandemonium" – lol! For lovers of improvised, wild & crazy, yet somehow well-hung-together jazz, this is the absolute ticket! The players truly have it together & create mood after mood, with well-developed themes that are designed to take you on that ride down the trail – freedom trail, that is (Baritone Saxophone, Tárogató – George Haslam; Double Bass – Giorgio Dini; Soprano Saxophone – Claudio Lugo & Violin – Stefano Pastor). My personal favorite of the 8 sessions offered was "Dance"… if your mind ain't swingin' by the time this one is over, you're beyond recovery anyway. For those who dig down deep into improvised music, this gets my MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.98. Get more information atStefano Pastor's pages.
Rotcod Zzaj http://rotcodzzaj.com/wordpress/?page_id=3552
Anybody expecting a no-holds barred approach from this release will be disappointed, for the quartet of musicians involved takes a fairly measured approach to the freedom principle. There are logican starting points, not to mention themes, and the progressions therefrom never enter incoherent or illogical territory. The blend of two saxophones plus violin works extremely well, with the leader choosing to mesh with, rather than taking over proceedings. The interplay, with the bass prominent in the mix, is frequently earcatching and stimulating. Just for the record, in case anybody was wondering, a tarogato is a single-reed woodwind instrument emanating from Hungary.
Peter Gamble Jazz Journal July 2012
As a tribute to the free jazz greats, "Freedom" is a bizarre album, but then in the positive way. The line-up is already special, with Stefano Pastor on violin, George Haslam on baritone sax and tárogató, Gianni Lugo on soprano sax, and Giorgio Dini on double bass. So you get three solo instruments and one bass to play the rhythmic parts and the thematic backbone, if any.
As Pastor writes in the liner notes : "It is my belief that, in choosing to play jazz or to relate to jazz, a musician is bound to feel at ease within the context of a libertarian and egalitarian culture, namely a revolutionary and popular culture; he cannot escape it, on grounds of his intellectual consistency".
And the music on this album has this quality : all musicians are free to join as and when they see fit, they react spontaneously to themes thrown into the group, join in unison, or improvise in parallel lines. The end result is quite charming and even intimate, while also trying to make the political statement above come true.
The most typical example of this is the third track, "Emancipation", on which the three solo instruments start quite avant-gardistic with short bursts of sounds without clear pattern, yet reacting to each other like a conversation of birds, yet gradually unison lines emerge, with some great "blue" notes adding a jazz element, then shifting to gospel, still in relative free form, and then halfway through the track Dini's bass joins with a steady vamp, pulling the soloists along with him and Haslam's baritone builds a great theme, with violin and tarogato playing a parallel countertheme, then all three continue soloing through each other, beautifully, respectfully.
Even if there are themes, the fun is to play with them and around them. The fact that Pastor's violin sounds more voiced than you would expect from the instrument, with a somewhat hoarse quality, brings it close in timbre to the saxes, creating a great unity in the interweaving layers of improvised phrases. Some pieces are meditative, like "Elevation", others more "harmolodic" in the Ornette Coleman sense, such as "Dance", that also contains swing elements, and with Haslam by coincidence or on purpose playing a phrase from "Happy House".
Without being too overly adventurous, the musicians create a real fun approach to jazz, alternating well between meditative parts and moments of joy.
http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2010/07/stefano-pastor-freedom-slam-2010.html
"i've been listening to FREEDOM this past week and wanted to tell you how much
i've enjoyed it. everyone sounds great----individually AND collectively. how
long have you all been playing together?" Ken Filiano.
Stefano Pastor, George Haslam, Claudio Lugo, Giorgio Dini – FREEDOM:The CD/album title on this one is like an understatement… in point of fact, you'll probably wonder as you listen to the title track, "Freedom", if this one shouldn't be titled "Near Pandemonium" – lol! For lovers of improvised, wild & crazy, yet somehow well-hung-together jazz, this is the absolute ticket! The players truly have it together & create mood after mood, with well-developed themes that are designed to take you on that ride down the trail – freedom trail, that is (Baritone Saxophone, Tárogató – George Haslam; Double Bass – Giorgio Dini; Soprano Saxophone – Claudio Lugo & Violin – Stefano Pastor). My personal favorite of the 8 sessions offered was "Dance"… if your mind ain't swingin' by the time this one is over, you're beyond recovery anyway. For those who dig down deep into improvised music, this gets my MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.98. Get more information atStefano Pastor's pages. Rotcod Zzaj
http://rotcodzzaj.com/wordpress/?page_id=3552
The latest production house Slam Records had presented solo version, and dealing with a handful of instruments, including of course the beloved violin, his voice and a good number of standards.Chants, the title of the CD question revealed the intimate and melodic soul of the musician Ligurian affected by time to the song form [see the review ofA Night in Italyin 2005], interpreted and revised with rigorous style and a minimalist approach.
But Pastor Stephen is a musician volcanic, continuous movement, forever searching for new facets of his creative urgency.And so in thisFreedom, co-produced by Slam and Silta Records, change course and return to more normal areas of free improvisation group, accompanied by George Haslam baritone sax and Tarogato Gianni Lugo on alto sax and bass Giorgio Dini .No drums or percussion in order to increase the degree of freedom of execution.Freedom is precisely, as indicated by the title, especially as that fielded by four formidable musicians.
Technically training work sees two reed instruments and two strings here, actually the violin sounds like Pastor third breath, by assonance tone, fluency and elegance in phrasing.Becomes important work connecting the bass of Dini, admirable in proposing pulse and provide the right support to unleash the creativity of other instruments.
Freedomoffers open music, with a distinctive internal organization, Free but not wild style with aplomb, but chamber music throbbing and vibrant.And unusually rich in melodic distributed here and there in the eight improvisations and sublimated into "Emancipation" and "Opposition".The first is a kind of improv-gospel hypnotic and enveloping you hooked right from the start and not let go more.The second rarefied atmosphere reigns of ancestral know, a sort of blues metaphysical lamentation of our times that draws strength from its past.
Great disc.
byVincenzo Roggero http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=5603
L'ultima produzione di casa Slam Records lo aveva presentato in versione solitaria, a districarsi tra una manciata di strumenti, tra i quali naturalmente l'amato violino, la propria voce ed un buon numero di standard.Chants, questo il titolo del CD in questione, rivelò l'anima intimista e melodica del musicista ligure, interessato da tempo alla forma canzone [leggi la recensione diUna notte in Italiadel 2005], interpretata e rivisitata con rigore stilistico e con un approccio di stampo minimalista.
Ma Stefano Pastor è musicista vulcanico, in continuo movimento, alla perenne ricerca di nuove declinazioni della propria urgenza creativa. E così in questoFreedom, co-prodotto da Slam e Silta Records, cambia rotta e ritorna ai più abituali ambiti della libera improvvisazione di gruppo, accompagnato da George Haslam al sax baritono e al tarogato, Gianni Lugo al sax alto e Giorgio Dini al contrabbasso. Niente batteria o percussioni così da aumentare il grado di libertà dell'esecuzione. Libertà per l'appunto, come quella indicata dal titolo, ma soprattutto come quella messa in campo dai quattro formidabili musicisti. Tecnicamente la formazione vede all'opera due strumenti ad ancia e due cordofoni, in realtà il violino di Pastor suona come un terzo fiato, per assonanza timbrica, scioltezza ed eleganza nel fraseggio. Diventa allora fondamentale il lavoro di raccordo del contrabbasso di Dini, mirabile nel proporre pulsazioni e nel fornire i giusti appoggi per scatenare la creatività degli altri strumenti.
STEFANO PASTOR / Freedom (Slam Productions / Silta Records)
I couldn’t have found a better illustration of the lukewarm feeling I get from Gebhard Ullman than by putting on Freedom right afterward. This is another avant-jazz quartet, but it moves and engages me so much more! Violinist Stefano Pastor has teamed up with George Haslam (baritone sax and tarogato, simultaneously at times), Claudio Lugo (soprano sax) and Giorgio Dini (bass). A few vivid collective improvisations, a few lyrical compositions by Pastor - "Opposition" gives me goosebumps. Splendid.
Je n’aurais pas pu trouver meilleure illustration de la tiédeur dans laquelle me laisse Gebhard Ullman qu’en enchaînant avec Freedom. On parle encore d’un quatuor de jazz d’avant-garde, mais comme celui-ci m’émeut et me parle plus! Le violoniste Stefano Pastor s’accoquine ici George Haslam (saxo baryton et tarogato, parfois simultanément), Claudio Lugo (saxo soprano) et Giorgio Dini (contrebasse). Quelques improvisations collectives vigoureuses, quelques compositions de Pastor empreintes de lyrisme - "Opposition" donne des frissons de vérité. Superbe.
François Couture
Surprised by the violin (viola?) Which is almost saxophone. Hoarse and dragging the note is Stefano Pastor.Two saxophonists around the violinist.They areGeorge Haslamand Claudio Lugo.
The lines intersect, the solos are rare but the counterpoint is king.Everyone here, to blend into a collective act, rarely denied.And so sail together, improvising without established structure or using crutches compositions-leader to solidify even more, they all want a jazz group and perform.
And do not forget, the man who casually gives direction.Giorgio Dinihas a thick bow but when he plays pizzicato that the form is required.And so release a free jazz, which ultimately did not require it
ORIGINAL FRENCH:
S'étonner ici de ce violon (un alto ?) qui est presque saxophone. Rauque et trainant la note, c'estStefano Pastor. Deux saxophonistes entourent le violoniste. Ce sontGeorge HaslametClaudio Lugo.
Les lignes se croisent, les solos sont rares mais le contrechant est roi. Chacun, ici, de se fondre en un acte collectif, rarement nié. Et ainsi de naviguer ensemble, improvisant sans structure établie ou se servant des compositions–béquilles du leader pour solidifier, plus encore, un jazz que tous veulent et réalisent collectif.
Et ne pas oublier, celui qui, mine de rien, donne direction.Giorgio Dinipossède un archet épais mais c'est quand il joue pizzicato que la forme s'impose. Et ainsi de libérer un free jazz qui, finalement, ne demandait que cela.
Luc Bouquet
http://grisli.canalblog.com/archives/2011/04/07/20833560.html
STEFANO PASTOR
«Freedom»
Slam CD520, distr. Ird
Freedom (2 vers.) / Rebellion /
Emancipation / Elevation / Dance /
Opposition / Meditation.
Claudio Lugo (sop.), George Haslam
(bar., tarogato), Stefano Pastor
(viol.), Giorgio Dini (cb.). Genova,
1-8-08.
La temperie del free vi accoglierà
sin dalle prime note di questo bel
disco, suonato da un quartetto
insolito. La pronuncia «sassofonistica
» e respirata di Pastor si
accompagna a tre musicisti di
rango e l'estetica complessiva
rende evidentemente omaggio alla
rivoluzione più eversiva e discussa
della storia del jazz. E così, ancorate
al possente contrabbasso di Dini,
si uniscono le lacerazioni ayleriane
di Pastor con le volute in cui si corteggiano
le ance. Si passa da spunti
scritti a frantumazioni assolute,
con schegge polifoniche impazzite
e ampie sortite estemporanee.
Più dettagliatamente, alcuni
pezzi sono incentrati su un'esposizione
corale e ben definita; altri
inframmezzano inserti tematici
a improvvisazione, come quando
Emancipation lascia intravedere
con chiarezza la melodia di Tenor
Madness. «Freedom» è un omaggio
che, a giudicare dalle note di
copertina, riflette anche sulla
congerie di significati strettamente
connessi a quell'epopea e a quella
stagione: dal concetto di militanza
a quello di superamento delle
regole costituite. Spunti su cui – in
uno spazio più ampio – sarebbe
bello riflettere anche in relazione
alla (in)attualità del free e al valore
di dischi come questo. Sabelli Musica Jazz Dec 2010.
Stefano Pastor, Kash Killion – "Bows" – Slamcd 524
Il violinista, flicornista e percussionista Stefano Pastor prosegue lungo la strada, non facile, di una musica di ricerca che in questo caso affronta un'ulteriore sfida: basarsi su due strumenti dalle sonorità piuttosto simili quali violino e violoncello, quest'ultimo nelle mani sapienti del californiano Kash Killion, specialista anche di strumenti indiani. Di qui un album dall'indubbia fascinazione che si apre con incredibile facilità a mondi diversi come quelli influenzati dall'avanguardia (si ascolti il brano d'apertura ("Obstinacy"), da suggestioni indiane ("Shanti"), da reminiscenze monkiane… il tutto vissuto con sincera partecipazione, al di là di qualsivoglia oleografica rappresentazione. E così i due dialogano fittamente per circa cinquanta minuti dando vita a situazioni musicali assai interessanti in cui le voci da un canto si fondono, dall'altro conservano intatta la loro individualità in un equilibrismo senza rete che fatalmente potrebbe compromettere l'esito finale dell'album e che invece ne certifica l'assoluta valenza. Per chiudere vorrei evidenziare la splendida esecuzione di "Ruby my dear" affrontata dai due con grande rispetto anche se in maniera assolutamente straniante ed originale: davvero una performence d'antologia. http://www.online-jazz.net/wp/2010/11/03/i-nostri-cd-30/ November 2010
Stefano Pastor's Freedom (1) doesn't have the sound you might expect from the instrumentation involved. Pastor doesn't do a lot of overt leading with his violin. Instead he mostly mixes in with the bellowing of the saxophone players to create a sound more like the massed reed blowing of groups such as ROVA.
This quartet makes a great start roaring over Giorgio Dini's frantic bass on "Freedom" and that sound continues on the tracks "Rebellion" and "Dance." "Emancipation" has everyone breaking out into little solo dances before Pastor takes a strong solo over an undulating bass groove while, on "Elevation," they all play a ballad in unison and sound like the World Saxophone Quartet doing Ellington. Dini's bass is crucial in setting the harmonic foundation for all this, especially on a sad dirge like "Opposition." And the two saxophonists, Lugo and Haslam, hold up their ends of things very well. Jerome Wilson, Cadence October 2010
STEFANO PASTOR With GEORGE HASLAM/CLAUDIO LUGO/GIORGIO DINI - Freedom (Slam 520/Silita 1001; UK) Featuring Stefano Pastor on violin, George Haslam on bari sax & taragato, Claudio Lugo on soprano sax and Giorgio Dini on double bass. Virtuoso violinist Stefano Pastor has worked Harry Beckett & Borah Bergman, as well as having an ongoing collaboration with Slam's reeds wiz George Haslam. I can't say that I was familiar with the other two members of this fine quartet. Mr. Pastor played here at DMG last year & will hopefully be here again this summer, so don't miss an opportunity to hear him live. 'Freedom' features an interesting instrumental line-up with two reeds (bari & soprano saxes) and two strings (violin & double bass), both from opposite ends of the sound spectrum. This is not just another "free improv" session, since there are some sketches or charts involved from what I can hear. Bassist Giorgio Dini does a great job of holding down the rhythm section role by pumping lines, occasionally at a furious pace. There is a constant layer of lines that intersect and interact, shift and move together like currents in the ocean. Although there are free elements or sections, someone (George?) seems to have written small figures that brings thing together. This is just an assumption, although there is some amazingly tight interplay here. The magic here is when one of the players begins a line the others harmonize with it instantly creating superb shifting shades and focused ideas. What I find most interesting is when they end up in some sublime, melodic and what sounds like partially charted sections. There is calm center to much of this which makes this set often thoughtful and haunting. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
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"Uncleanness as a choice to reject rejection proportions, with the aim of a final effect not necessarily codified. Uncleanness and disproportion as the chilling result of the most daring, most reckless improvisation. As a claim for freedom"
Erika Dagnino - Freedom's Liner Notes - SLAMCD 520 - SR 1001 - 2010 |
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"Sporcizia come rifiuto libero delle proporzioni in vista di un effetto finale non necessariamente codificato. Sporcizia e sproporzione come effetto rabbrividente dell'improvvisazione più audace e rischiosa. Come rivendicazione di libertà"
Erika Dagnino - Freedom's Liner Notes - SLAMCD 520 - SR 1001 - 2010 |
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"...This is another avant-jazz quartet, but it moves and engages me so much more! (...) A few vivid collective improvisations, a few lyrical composition by Pastor - "Opposition" gives me goosebumps. Splendid."
Francois Couture - Monsieur Délire -Radio Délire Musical (Canada) - April 2010 |
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"...Questo è un altro quartetto avant-jazz, ma mi parla e mi emoziona molto di più! (...) Poche vigorose improvvisazioni collettive, poche liriche composizioni di Pastor - "Opposition" mi da un brivido di verità. Splendido."
Francois Couture - Monsieur Délire -Radio Délire Musical (Canada) - April 2010 |
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"...the British label normally produces radical free music, on the contrary the quartet led by the violinist Stefano Pastor - involving two saxes (George Haslam and Claudio Lugo) and a double bass (Giorgio Dini) - recovers musicality, a strong sense of melody, rhythmic severity, not renouncing to moments of absolute free expression, according to the anti-dogma of the European 'improvised music'. This originates a disc which results doubly out of any convention. This is why this is a truly very interesting disc."
Guido Michelone - Alias n. 15 - Il Manifesto - April 10, 2010 |
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"...rispetto all'estremismo sonoro della label britannica, il quartetto capitanato dal violinista Stefano Pastor con due sax (George Haslam e Claudio Lugo) e un contrabbasso (Giorgio Dini), recupera musicalità, melodismo, rigore ritmico, senza però rinunciare a momenti di assoluta libertà espressiva, secondo l'antidogma dell'«improvised music» europea. Ne nasce così un disco doppiamente fuori dagli schemi e, proprio per questo, davvero molto interessante."
Guido Michelone - Alias n. 15 - Il Manifesto - April 10, 2010 |
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"...The four musicians improvise on collective structures strictly oriented with a lot of adrenalin, the sounds they take out from their instruments are very personal: original voices with no references to any easy trend ..."
Vittorio Loconte - Music Boom - March 31, 2010 |
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"...Eccoli quindi carichi di adrenalina ad improvvisare in collettivi orientati su una direzione precisa, molto individuali nei suoni che tirano fuori dagli strumenti, voci originali che non si lasciano amalgamare da mode o spettative alcune..." |
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FREEDOM FREEDOM (Slam/Silta) Il titolo di questo progetto deriva dalle iniziali dei sette brani in scaletta: Freedom, Rebellion, Emancipation, Elevation, Dance, Opposition, Meditation: rispetto all'estremismo sonoro della label britannica, il quartetto capitanato dal violinista Stefano Pastor con due sax (George Haslam e Claudio Lugo) e un contrabbasso (Giorgio Dini), recupera musicalità, melodismo, rigore ritmico, senza però rinunciare a momenti di assoluta libertà espressiva, secondo l'antidogma dell'«improvised music» europea. Ne nasce così un disco doppiamente fuori dagli schemi e, proprio per questo, davvero molto interessante. (g.mic.)
http://www.ilmanifesto.it/il-manifesto/alias/i-dischi-della-settimana/
Libertà di Vittorio LoConte
Il titolo dato al disco ci riporta subito agli sessanta ed alla famosa incisione diOrnette Coleman, che segnò una nuova era della musica jazz. Qui manca la batteria, non si tratta di un doppio quartetto, tuttavia è lo stesso un´opera radicata in quello spirito. Sia nei titoli, la cui prima lettera costruisce la parola freedom, letta in verticale, sia nella musica, che non lascia spazio a organizzazioni ma solo all´ispirazione estemporanea. Eccoli quindi carichi di adrenalina ad improvvisare in collettivi orientati su una direzione precisa, molto individuali nei suoni che tirano fuori dagli strumenti, voci originali che non si lasciano amalgamare da mode o spettative alcune. Radicali, se si vuole, nella scelta di campo, ma non lo eraOrnette Colemanallora (e lo è ancora oggi)? Insieme al leaderStefano Pastoral violino ci sono l´ingleseGeorge Haslamal sax baritono ed al tarogato eClaudio Lugoal sax soprano ricurvo, impegnati in dialoghi serrati in cui c´è sempre ad ogni istante qualcosa da raccontarsi. La sezione ritmica è presente a metà, con il soloGiorgio Dinial contrabbasso, protagonista assoluto (e coproduttore insieme adHaslam). La musica free continua ad esistere, forse perchè la libertá è un sogno invocato in ogni epoca ed allo stesso tempo veloce ad essere messo da parte. Sembra quasi un anticorpo pronto a spuntare quando ce n´è bisogno. Meglio ancora, quando, come qui, il livello artistico, al di là del genere, si mantiene a livelli piuttosto alti. http://www.musicboom.it/mostra_recensioni.php?Unico=20100331191851
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