Curious Listener
Just do it! | London, UK | 12/10/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having tried 'Gurdjieff, Tsabropoulos: Chants, Hymns and Dances' and loved it, I could not wait to get this one. As applies with any installment from a great work, my expectations were quite high.
Not that I am disappointed with Melos, I would just say to someone coming to this album from the same journey as mine, to be expect quality, but in a different form. Whereas 'Gurdjieff, Tsabropoulos: Chants, Hymns and Dances' sounded more classical, Melos is a tiny more jazzy, but there are some amazing pieces that would leave no one in doubt of the classical elements.
My personal favorites are 4,7,12,13 and 15. Just for those, I would readily pull out the debit card...
In all, I would give it 4.75 out of 5 if it was possible."
A Tantalizing Treat
Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 04/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My journey to Melos comes via the exquisite Arild Andersen recording called The Triangle on which pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos played such a key part. My experience with that, coupled with the presence here of cellist Anja Lechner made ordering this an easy decision. And what a tantalizing treat Melos has proven to be!
There is so much to like here its hard to decide where to start. I like the entire recording, but the cuts that grab me the most are the mesmerizing title cut, the vaguely oriental sounds of Tibetan Dance, the enchanting Gift of Dreams, the spectacular Promenade, and the long and dreamy Vocalise. The play of Tsabropoulos is exciting and inventive, Lechner adds broad strokes of suave melancholy and the restrained percussion of U. T. Gandhi is just sublime.
With Melos, you get over an hour's worth of always enjoyable music plus an attractive insert featuring lots of pictures and minimal album information in the traditionally understated ECM style.
I dare say that with the passing of Esbjorn Svensson, Tsabropoulos has taken the helm as the most exciting jazz pianist on the scene today. There are others is the upper echelon of course, but Melos gives Tsabropoulos the crown. Check it out and hear what I mean!"
Often beautiful but not entirely satisfying
Christopher Culver | 01/31/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Having enjoyed Vassily Tsabropoulos' solo piano recital Akroasis, I picked up this 2008 collaboration with cellist Anja Lechner and percussionist U.T. Gandhi. MELOS is a disc of slow, meditative improvisations over 15 compositions mainly by Tsabropoulos, but in three cases by the mystic G. Gurdjieff.
Some of this album is exquisitely beautiful. Most of "Tibetan Dance", a Gurdjieff composition, is just the same melody over and over again in various transpositions by either Lechner or Tsabropolous as the other harmonizes and Gandhi keeps time, but it seems so much more than the sum of its parts. "Gift of Dreams" is a wideranging performance that is ensemble nearly throughout, but shows off the individual skills of this trio.
But ultimately, my feelings about MELOS are mixed. The absence of Gandhi from a great many tracks is felt: the material often here *needs* percussion because the cello and piano make it sound too pretty. Also, Tsabropolous too often repeats the same figure again and again in a way that doesn't establish any hypnotic groove, but rather just makes me feel like he's just filling time.
I don't find this an essential release, even for people who are drawn to buy anything the ECM label puts out. But if you're already familiar with Tsabropoulos' work, you might get a lot of enjoyment here, flawed as it is."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1