Search - Fahir Atakoglu :: Faces & Places

A GREAT RECORD!! Period!!

John Manfield | New York | 03/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Please read this review !

Not only this but i have read only many great reviews about this album FACES &PLACES by Fahir Atakoglu.

I bought it and listened They are all true .

He is a great composer and pianist .

I strongly disagree with the review of another writer on this web site.

If John Patitucci ,Bob Mintzer,Horacio Hernandez,Randy Brecker plays in an album They play only because they like playing it.

These cats all well past their greed for money.

please wake up...

You may not like the CD but don't insult these great musicians including Fahir Atakoglu. lsten to his other albums " IStanbul In Blue" and IF .

you'll see what I mean ....

"Turkish-born pianist Fahir Atakoglu has moved to the U.S. - Maryland in particular -- to continue his vision quest for musical knowledge that sees few boundaries ahead. Past recordings have seen him in symphonic and cinematic formats, with contemporary or funky rhythm mates, and the best modern musicians to challenge and elevate his already virtuosic playing. In the case of Faces & Places, all those elements are present at once, helped along by a string ensemble, some tasteful synthesizer garnishes, and the presence of heavyweights like Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, John Patitucci, and his regular drummer, the fabulous Horatio "El Negro" Hernandez. Where Atakoglu's music always has the dune sand and sun eroticism of his homeland, here it also incorporates Brazilian sounds, beats stemming from American rhythm & blues, and a soothing orchestral undercoating not at all obtrusive like some of the syrupy CTI recordings of the '70s. It's fun to hear the pianist and Brecker dig into the slashing "N.Y.-Retrospective" with all of the vigor of Seventh Avenue South skunk funk halcyon days, and in a similar mode via 7/8 time for "Seven," with Patitucci's bass and Wayne Krantz's distorted guitar setting the pace and tone respectively. Then there's the active Middle Eastern funk of "High Street," the beautiful combination of cascading Turkish mysticism and luscious samba during "Faces" in 14/8 with voices, strings, and Mintzer's sax, or how Rene Toledo's flamenco guitar is blended into the busy "Mediterranean" in a facade not so unlike that of Chick Corea's music. Atakoglu's exceptional hyper piano during "Rio Da Noite" is again situated as a juxtaposition versus Romero Lubambo's tropical guitar, while synthesizers and string convene for "...And Places," easily the most melancholy track. But hopefully romantic, the leader, Mintzer, and the string quintet evoke passionate lovemaking on "Your Face," universally at the heart of Atakoglu's themes. It is that inherently lustful quality balanced with good common sense and spectacular musicianship that identifies Faces & Places as a pure personal statement, and a continuing novel with the diversity Fahir Atakoglu has always enjoyed. It's a beautiful statement of contemporary jazz from top to bottom, deserving of high accolades, and anyone's high recommendation." by Michael Nastos"

BRAVO!! BRAVO!!

Bob the Jazzplayer | New York USA | 03/19/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nothing I have heard in my entire life (45 years) moved me as much as Fahir Atakoglu's music since I have heard his melodies on "IF" and ISTANBUL IN BLUE". I just received his latest FACES &PLACES is another proof of that. After listening to it on the radio and reading all those positive reviews I knew he was going to come up with this brilliant piece of work. His music has always been what I call new and refreshing, otherwise what jazz music needs these days: diversification with good melodies and musicianship that has no passport. John Patittuci (bass) Horacio Hernandez(Drums),Bob Mintzer(sax) and Fahir(piano) is the quartet plays in all tracks ; Randy Brecker(trumpet) , Romero Lubambo(gtr), Rogerio Boccato(perc),Rene Toledo(gtr) Wayne Krantz (gtr) and a string section joins them throughout the album. Congratulations are in order by the way to all of the string players-Dave Eggar (cello) ,Rachel Golup(1st Violin) Amy Kimball (2nd Violin),Julie Gondale (viola) Gregg August (Bass) -need to be mentioned for being able to play such interconnected odd tempos and melodies with such finesse !!BRAVO!! . All of these musicians , as this writer I came across on the web (Fernando Gonzales) well describes : "..fleshes out Atakoglu's vision, not only by using a larger group, but by making intriguing connections as he revisits his influences. Here, the high energy of, say, Chick Corea's Return to Forever, or the Brecker Brothers, is re-contextualized and re-imagined with Middle Eastern sounding melodies and odd-metered grooves, as in the opening "Into You," with its zigzagging lines and relentless, driving high energy. A strong soloist, with an arranger's ear for development and form, Atakoglu's writing also sounds particularly deft at manipulating tension, energy and textural variations. Check "High Street" with its rhythmic layers bubbling under the melody and his use of the strings to pace the song. Perhaps reflecting both personal experience as well as Turkey's position as a cultural crossroad, a certain Middle Eastern rhythm in Atakoglu's music is not far from, for example, Brazilian samba, flamenco or gritty New York City jazz funk. In "Faces" the initial odd time signature groove, stirring the music under wordless vocals and a piano solo, is later transformed, by a subtle change in musical accents, into a hard driving bossa nova. "Mediterranean," includes both a Middle Eastern sounding melody from the string section and the saxophone, and palmas (hand clapping) during a flamenco-pop tinged solo from former Gloria Estefan mainstay, guitarist Rene Toledo. And Atakoglu is not afraid to mix and match, and in turn, evoke the sound of jazz in New York City in the '80s -- as in "NY-Retrospective," which feels like a Brecker Brothers tribute. The results sound at once familiar and fresh. It's an adventure that is definitely worthy. Such is life in a global (jazz) world."

Every composition in this recording is so original and so easy to listen to. Tracks like , Into You , Faces , Seven , Rio Da Noite,..and Places ; are exceptional!

BRAVO Fahir Atakoglu ; I salute you and all these great musicians for giving us this incredible Journey of music.-"