Search - Erik Friedlander :: Prowl

Balkan North-African funk . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 05/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . a unique and highly unusual approach to jazz. This kind of experiment often doesn't work. When it does, as here, it can produce some of the most appealing, mesmerizing music on the planet. For analogs, one thinks of Egberto Gismonti and his Northern Brazil folk/jazz fusions, perhaps ultimately expressed in Sanfona, or Omar Sosa's Pictures of Soul and Mulatos. For me, these are among the finest expressions of music ever created.



To rank Prowl by Erik Friedlander in that company is highest praise from me. But lemme tell ya, it's fully deserving. I can scarcely remember when I've been as blown away by a disc. I had high hopes for this recording, and they were more than realized. And this from someone who's not an automatic fan of the players--Friedlander, cello; Andy Laster, alto sax and clarinet; Stomu Takeishi, electric bass; and Satoshi Takeishi, percussion. Laster, especially, seems to have substantially advanced his art since my last hearing of him. This strikes me as one of those sessions where everything absolutely comes together: a killer concept, a vibe everyone's fully on board with, a seasoned, road-savvy band, and a company, producer, and engineer who fully get it. Pure serendipity.



I urge you to hear this music. This is one of those sessions blessed by magic. Everything from Friedlander's cello that strangely resonates with oud-like sonorities--especially on "7th Sister" and Rain Bearers,"--to Laster's plaintive sax and clarinet stylings, to Stomu's funk bass, to Satoshi's brilliant percussion moves--it's all going full bore here. Were it not for the transcendence of Bobby Previte's The Coalition of the Willing, this would by my disc of the year. Do not miss it!"

Freedom and restraint.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 02/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Erik Friedlander is really one of the true virtuoso performers in music today-- I've yet to encounter a cellist with the talent, flexibility and vision of Friedlander, and as such it is with great excitement that I picked up the recently released "Prowl", featuring the Topaz quartet of Friedlander, Andy Laster (alto sax and clarinet), Stomu Takeishi (electric bass) and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion). The band's sound is a bit hard to define-- Friedlander states in the liner notes that a lot of the inspiration was '70s funk and fusion sounds, but honestly, I don't really hear it. What I do hear is a rhythmically infused music-- one where the drums will often maintain a relatively straight (almost Industrial/punk tribal) pattern while the bass and to a lesser extent the cello voices offer rhythmic figures. This environment then provides a great surface for improvisation that can somewhat surrender the notions of rhythmic maintenance while at the same time being restricted to a pattern. Net result, an intriguing dose of tension and freedom.



Probably the best example of this on the disc is Friedlander's arrangement of "A Closer Walk With Thee"-- being a melody everyone is familiar with (whether you recognize it by name or not), it provides an opportunity to hear the band's concept nicely. After a brief pizzicato intro from Friedlander, the drums maintain the main rhythmic drive while bass provides counter to the drums and Laster states the melody on clarinet. Friedlander seamlessly moves between these two, at times operating as melody and harmony and at times as a rhythmic entity. It ends with a delicate and complex feel that keeps you guessing.



And this is how the record stays at its best-- moving and responding-- opener "Howling Circle" illustrates this nicely-- Stomu Takeishi provides funky support for Friedlander's frantic arco solo and a fractured performance below Laster's grunting and groaning. "Chanting" finds each instrument performing a mild melodic statement before picking up and building, with each instrument taking its turn in the fore and in focus, "7th Sister" finds a change in roles with the cello fielding the rhythmic bass role and fretless electric bass joining the horn in the theme statement, and so on.



Invariably, the nicest thing about "Prowl" is that the music keeps moving, that roles keep changing, and it keeps you guessing what will come next. Add to this superb interaction from a quartet who has clearly been working together for quite some time and a leader who is a rare virtuoso, it works out to be quite a nice album. Recommended."