Nagyvilág - Bende Zsolt a ködös Albionban

2011. november 24., Maloschik Róbert

Nemrégiben angliai turnén vett részt a gitáros Bende Zsolt. Erről faggatom az alábbiakban.

Szia Zsolti, merre jártál, hol léptél fel? Egyáltalán, hogyan jött létre ez a turné?
Szia Robi! Mielőtt az USA-ba költöztem volna, Londonban laktam pár évig. Itt kezdtem  dolgozni angol zenészekkel. A mostani turné alatt két különböző zenekarral dolgoztunk. Az egyik egy jazz trió angol zenészekkel, Michael Coady bőgő, Gary Willcox dob, a másikat  inkább világzeneinek mondanám, ez a Neil Yates Five Countries Trio. Ez egy szokatlan összetételű zenekar, ahol Neil Yates trombitál és loop-okat használ, Cormac Byrne bodhran-on, cajon-on és egyéb ütőhangszereken játszik, én pedig akusztikus gitáron. A Londoni Jazz Fesztiválon léptünk fel, a Queen Elizabeth Hall-ban.

Mióta ismered Neil Yates-et?
Neil-lel az Arnie Somogyi "Improvokation" nevű zenekarában találkoztam, egy 10 tagú angol és magyar zenészekből álló formációban (tagokat soroljuk? Szakcsi Lakatos Béla, Tony Lakatos, Borbély Misi, Salamon Bea és jómagam, angol részről Wynston Clifford, Jeremy Price, Neil Yates és Arnie Somogyi volt. Akkor találkoztam először Neil-lel. Ha jól emlékszem,  2002-ben jelent meg a lemez.

Emlékszel még rá, hogy pár évvel ezelőtt Zsámbékon is felléphettél vele? Ott milyen anyagot játszottatok?
Igen, emlékszem - vegyes anyag volt, de többnyire Neil szerzeményeit játszottuk. Bár Bacsó Kristóf szám is elhangzott, meg egy pár darab tőlem is.

És ez a mostani trió lemez mennyire jazz?
Különböző stílusok lelhetők fel benne: ír népzene, jazz. Azt mondják, hogy flamenco is… Nagyon dallamos, vizuális zene. A darabok harmóniavilága, meg a szólók nagy része jazz. Bár hozzátennem, hogy Neil játékában fellelhető az ír népzenéből átvett jellegzetes díszítés, ami egyedivé teszi a játékát. Az akusztikus gitár adottságai miatt a gitárszólókban is van némi klasszikus.

Lesz ennek az angliai turnénak folytatása? Mondjuk, Magyarországra visszahívod Neil-t, s esetleg átugrotok Erdélybe is pár koncertre?
Folytatása egészen biztosan lesz. Az angliai és egyéb külföldi koncert dátumok és felkérések folyamatosan érkeznek. Nagyon örülnék, ha Budapesten is játszanánk és a magyar közönséghez is eljutna a zenénk.

És csattanóként egy-két angliai kritika a CD-ről!

Guardian Review (UK)

Manchester musician Neil Yates was a successful trumpeter on the UK jazz and studio scene in the 1990s – but he abandoned that life and took to a caravan, touring the music festivals of Britain and Ireland. Immersing himself in folk music, Yates developed a unique trumpet approach drawing on Celtic and other traditional folk inflections as well as jazz, and this warmly evocative album is a journey through those influences in the company of Romanian acoustic guitarist Zsolt Bende and percussionist Cormac Byrne. A discreet virtuoso, Yates adapts skipping folk-fiddle melodies to trumpet, flugelhorn and tenor horn, and his engaging themes – full of light, fluttering figures – are compatibly supported by Bende's bell-like chording and Byrne's galloping low-register sounds on the bodhran drum and Latin-American cajon. Some themes are dreamy laments, like the whispering Freedoms Lost, the coquettish Isabella's Dream has flamenco undercurrents, there are jig-like dances, and long-note tone poems in which the brass sound slowly curls and wreathes like a voice. The resourceful Yates might have applied the vivacity of his Irish whistle-playing more widely, as a contrast to the ongoing busy murmur of those trumpet tunes, but it's an attractive venture for folk listeners with jazz sympathies, and vice versa.

Jazz UK review:

Neil Yates’s Five Countries

(Edition Records)

Years ago, the great bassist and composer Charles Mingus used to argue that improvisation in music, while nurtured in the American jazz tradition, would one day return to other musical styles, and that this would in itself revitalise them. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are able to appreciate not only the depth of Mingus’s insight, but the marvellous music which has resulted from this process.

And there couldn’t be a better example of this than the Five Countries trio, inspired by the remarkable creativity of trumpeter Neil Yates. With its unique instrumentation, the trio’s music offers hints of all sorts of styles – Irish traditional music, Spanish flameno, and so on. Indeed, you could spend hours identifying the various influences which come together in this wonderful trio. But this would be rather missing the point: the greatest of its many strengths is the way in which the Trio’s music blends all these influences together seamlessly.

This is music of the highest quality, performed by virtuoso players. It is fresh, vibrant, and stunningly original. It deserves to be heard.

Pete Martin (Associate Editor Jazz UK, 1996-2010)

Danish review:

Jazz and traditional music united on broad, melodious and well executedplate

British Neil Yates is a dazzlingly good jazz trumpet player who especiallyexcels in a Miles Davis-like pitch, but also adds a hint of jazz, traditionalCeltic music. When he - as here - beats partnered with Romanian guitarist Zsolt Bende and Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne - is the road even paveda truly transnational musical universe that is both steeped in the sixtyrespective national music traditions and national music traditions they are exploring. Their common jazz album exudes so both British, Celtic, Irish,Romanian and Spanish music. Of the plate title.

Five Countries is a wide ranging, melodic and really well executed albumthat combines the best from these music scenes with elements of goodcontemporary jazz. Five Countries are cultured, characterized by mutualresponsiveness, technical brilliance and artistic passion. It's the same reason, both absolutely listen worthy and highly recommendable. Washout, beautiful. A song that the Free Kingdoms Lost for example. one of the most beautiful, the undersigned have heard at this year's previous jazz releases.

By BRUCE LINDSAY, Published: November 13, 2011

Trumpeter Neil Yates has an extensive discography, covering an impressive range of musical styles, but Five Countries is only his second album as leader, and his debut for Wales' Edition Records. Joined by guitarist Zsolt Bende and percussionist Cormac Byrne, Yates has produced a melodic and atmospheric collection of tunes which fuses jazz and folk music.

The title of Five Countries apparently refers to the three musicians' countries of birth, migration and residence. The album takes its inspiration from a much wider geographical range, with music from Europe, Africa and North America all making their presence felt.

Yates studied jazz at the Guildhall School of Music, has contributed to recordings by pop acts such as Robbie Williams, and has an extensive background in folk music. He's worked with leading lights of the British and Irish scene including Kate Rusby, Karen Tweed and Michael McGoldrick—the composer of "Waterman's"—and was a member of the splendidly named folk/reggae band Edward II and the Red Hot Polkas. Yates' folk heritage comes over strongly on this set, both in the mellow and breathy sound of his horn playing and in his spacious, ever so slightly mysterious compositions.

Byrne's bodhran playing adds another strong strand of folk to the album, while his use of other percussive instruments adds depth and color. Bende's subtle and emotive acoustic guitar work has a bright edge that contrasts beautifully with Yates' softer horn sound, coming to the fore on "Frozen Forest"—where Bende's light and deft approach is truly melancholy—and on his own lilting ballad, "Freedoms Lost."

Five Countries readily evokes images of open spaces, coastlines and harbors, and hills and mountains. With none of the tension or urgency of urban life, this is music that conjures visions of a peaceful and bucolic rural idyll.

Track Listing: Flutter and Flight; Snowdonia / Sail The Sky; Frozen Forest; Dustfall / Spin The Sky; Freedoms Lost; Izabella's Dream; Slipreel; Storm on the Irish Sea; Rainy Harbour; Seventh Sense / Waterman's.

Personnel: Neil Yates: trumpet, flugelhorn, whistle (7), tenor horn (5), effects; Zsolt Bende: acoustic guitar; Cormac Byrne: bodhran, percussion.

Record Label: Edition Records