Kratochvíl, Ackerman, Zangi
Cestou

  • Format: CD
  • Band: Kratochvíl, Ackerman, Zangi
  • Title: Cestou
  • Band's Origin: CS
  • Style: instrumental Jazzrock
  • Rating: 4
  • Release Year: 2011
  • Recording Year: 2010
  • Production Year: 2011
  • Record Company: Studio Budikov
  • Item's Number: without number
  • Color of the Label:
  • Edition:
  • Extras:
  • EAN: 8594159981003
  • Weight: 94 g
Grading
  • Visual: new
  • Acoustic:
  • Cover: new

Studio Budikov Release Information



Czech audiences know the duo of Martin Kratochvíl (piano) and Tony Ackerman (guitar) ever since 1984, the year Ackerman came from his native USA to study Czech new music, and renewed an old acquaintance with Kratochvíl – by chance – on the stage of the Malostranská beseda. Since then, they have fused the sounds of their two acoustic instruments in a unique way, weaving melodies and harmonies, written themes and extended improvisations, with a sensitivity and rapport that only comes with years of playing together.

Since the 1980s they were often joined by the percussion wonder Imram Musa Zangi, who has created a special ethnic setup made up of Latin American and Middle Eastern hand-played drums especially to accompany the delicate sounds of the duo. Last year, to celebrate 25 years of Ackerman and Kratochvíl playing together, Supraphon released Zvukobraní, a box set of eight CDs presenting all of the duo’s recorded output. Now the trio has released a new CD, Cestou, in which Zangi (occasionally enriched by the hand percussion sounds of his 16-year-old son Filip) takes an equal role in the sound palette.

From the first, slow-groove title piece on, we are treated to a delicious combination of sound colors, recorded with unusual clarity and depth. Ackerman’s seven-string guitar provides a deep bass resonance to complement Kratochvíl’s percussive piano, to which the Zangi father-son combination weaves in their light, shimmering rhythms. The album explores a wide variety of styles, tempos and feelings, from the brooding, harmonically rich ballads of Kratochvíl (Odkaz, Osudová přitažlivost) enriched by the mysterious sound of the 12-string guitar, to the earthy, bluesy Boogie pro Fantýnu, and to the exciting Santana/Latin-inspired Zdroje tu jsou.

Although you are most likely to find this CD in the “Jazz” section of the store, it’s more accurate to think of this CD as a special kind of world music: a crossroad where a legend of Czech jazzrock, a classically trained American picker of blues, country and other steel-string styles, and a player of Latin percussion suffused with Middle Eastern delicacy, meet to create a colorful mix of sounds and rhythms that you will not hear anywhere else.


Tracklist



1. Cestou / On the Way 4:53
2. Riverrun 5:25
3. Osudová přitažlivost / Fatal Attraction 3:16
4. Vánek / Breeze 4:13
5. Why Do Stars? 3:41
6. Boogie pro Fantýnu / Boogie for Fantyna 4:19
7. Tušení souvislostí / A Touch of Serendipity 4:08
8. Heavy Metal 2:33
9. Čundrácké Blues / Tramp’s Blues 4:51
10. Zdroje tu jsou / We’ve Got the Goods 4:16
11. Odkaz / Legacy 4:05