Jazz Bez,  Day 6

“Jazz Bez”, the  Sixth Day. An  Experimental One. Melodic «Happy 55" & Stormy «Gurzuf »

The Festival “Jazz Bez” after two-day jam-sessions has returned to its  full format calibre.  That day was devoted to the musical experiments of our northern neighbours: Group «Happy 55" from Russia and the «Gurzuf» from Belarus. Both groups presented some unconventional music, and the second one - some unusual cast: one accordionist & one drummer. And both surprised the audience. 

The «Happy 55"  (the  trio consisting of drums, piano and contrabass)  offered a completely new to the  ear of the experienced jazzbez-fans  music.  The  piano compositions, though performed by a classical jazz trio cast, could hardly undoubtedly be corresponded  to jazz.  It's somewhere between pop, jazz and piano-rock & it resembles the  «Procol Harum» and the «Muse».  The appellation  "jazz- rock”  arises here but the group  «Happy 55" has  nothing to do with the fusion. Mike Oldfield could perform such like music while his best times, but not his excessive monumentality.

The «Happy 55" music is rich, sometimes it’s dramatic, sometimes pathos and, at the same time, just from the beginning  the musicians manage to cause the feeling of home comfort  (it looks like an old disc with a record of some pathos music but you can still listen to it only at home with a plaid  and mulled wine). Replace the piano by any other instrument and the «Happy 55" will “produce” whatever you like:  from new-age music to hard rock, depending on the selected timbre. In a music store the «Happy 55" discs could be displayed as on the shelves with  progressive rock as with a modern jazz. Russian critics have invented a new  phrase  for the group "post-jazz-rock” , but this is the case when the music should be listened to, not read. Unfortunately, the guys haven’t managed to bring their albums, so those who missed the concert have the only chance – myspace. com.

What was it actually? The piano was performing some arty-crafty & very intricate parties , wandering  among the above mentioned three styles. The bass was keeping the pointedly simple and crude parties (he  kept the base chord all the time  and only once performed a short solo) and his parties  added some  tough sound &  anxiety to the music. All the mentioned was joined by the rock drums with a bunch of interesting tricks in their sound. The group’s compositions make an impression of holistic drama-plays with a  logical and professionally well-judged internal development  and they are easy to perceive like some  program sketches. These works are quite adapted to the programs of musical colleges and their students maybe could perform them better:  I have some claims to the phrasing of the pianist. Though, perhaps if it were more elaborate, the music would lose its rigidity and acquire an unpleasant sweetness. The original sound, interesting music, clearly based on academic but   not a jazz basis that implements  the best jazz & rock attainments.  Herewith it is lost of lusciousness  and refinement ( “illness” the  academic jazzmen often suffer from.)  What is more to be desired by the audience tired of genre music?

The group «Gurzuf» was the next – one more surprise of the day. It consists only of the accordionist and the drummer. Their music could  be called “jazz” conditionally  as well. As in the previous group,  it’s more likely to be  rock. As it turned out, an accordion (to be a multi-sound  instrument) may successfully supersede the whole group. Unlike the previous group (despite all the diversity it “gravitated” to academism), «Gurzuf» has caught the audience with the drive & aggressive sound. And again - the pointedly crude sound, it was loud, even clamant and rocky- shrill.  Among other compositions the  guys performed their own trilogy  "Moby Dick" written for the theater play (contract with the Magdeburg theatre). If it could be considered as an experiment  so, it was half-successful, but as a concept, well,  it was interesting. And  be careful with the audience in the  Philharmonic halls  - in case the group was not so trying to deafen  the listeners and to emphasize the  "monumentality of accordion" (and they really seemed  to be occupied with that), so “Gurzuf” could challenge for more proud definition than simply an "experimental." group.

The current year “Jazz Bez” introduces an incredible “quantity” of unusual music & thus it goes on with the experiments mixing tastes and styles.

Still, a  lot of surprises are ahead.

efandy

.. and a few photographs. Performance of the purposely created for the Festival project "Bez Spogadiv" and the jam-session storming after it ( "The Hot Potato Project" + Tverdun +Maksymiv + many others). 7 December,  Tuesday, art-club “Kvartyra 35”