"HARMONANCE"
George Haslam baritone sax. tarogato, Laszlo gardony piano
Recorded at the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, Enngland. Tracks 1,2,3 on 29 Jan 1999, 4,5,6 on 1 Feb 1991.
SLAMCD 310 Bar code 5 028386 031024
TRACKS:
1 Landscape with baritone sax 16m 54
2 Winter dance 17 06
3 Holywell hoedown 4 36
4 Lonnie’s lament/Marianao 20 07
5 Misty 2 36
6 Albert 4 46
Haslam continues to impress me with each recording of his I hear, and these live concert performances which were given eight years apart at the same Oxford music hall, are no exception. The empathy between Haslam and pianist Gardony remains constant as they burrow into the heart of five original compositions and two famous jazz vehicles. The first three selections are from the most recent period and are given joint compositional credit. Gardony assumes a forceful posture on this set. He exhibits classical roots in his playing but approaches the instrument with a near angry attitude and expels the music from a highly resonant stance. His percussive style is used quite effectively to establish the pattern of pianistic aggressiveness that dominates the album. Gardony is frequently featured as a soloist where he probes assertively into the tunes. He generates the album's underlying turmoil as he digs deeper and deeper with improvised weightiness. Haslam is a whirlwind of creative ideas on both the baritone and tarogato. He spews out long lines of improvised magic that twist and turn around the heavy barrage from Gardony's piano. On baritone his tone is breathy and robust. His tarogato solos, with the horn's unique squeakiness, conjure up the mesmerizing flavor of the Middle East. As the liner notes suggest, it is a marriage of harmony and dissonance; hence the album's title. The mix works extremely well to produce extended exercises of unfolding improvisations that propel like rampaging water after the floodgates have been opened. The earlier concert, even with the familiarity that comes with its selections, is certainly not lacking in innovation. Haslam's extended baritone dirge on Coltrane's "Lonnies Lament" which flows gracefully into his tarogato solo on his own "Marianao", is a wonderfully developed piece that builds in degrees to an excitable pitch while Gardony scurries up and down the keyboard with dense tonality and rapid fire execution. These duet performances have all the ingredients necessary to capture and hold an audience's attention. Haslam and Gardony have something going between them, and it transmits directly to the listener. Frank Rubolino, Cadence September 2000.
Dès les premières notes d'écoute de cet album nous savons déjà qu'un pur moment de régal se propose à nous. George Haslam, au saxophone baryton, et Laszlo Gardony, au piano, se livrent à un dialogue musical d'une profondeur et d'une intensité exemplaires. Aucune intention de jouer d'une façon esquissée ou convenue d'avance, le jeu se déroule, déboule à chaque instant sur des sonorités succulentes, sur des rapprochements qui nous envahissent. Le maître-mot de cet album est le plaisir. Un plaisir à découvrir et à faire partager aux auditeurs, au public, à tous ceux qui savent être attentifs à ce qu'on leur propose de manière désintéressée, sans retenue. Cet album est source de réflexion sur le son, les sons, les possibilités sans cesse offertent aux musiciens pour s'exprimer, pour dévoiler leurs passions de l'instant. Tous les sons sont dès lors conviés ; aucune juxtaposition ne saurait paraître suspecte, aucune démarche n'est à exclure. Tout ce qui vient alimenter le jeu est à envisager Le musicien doit se sentir libre de proposer ; plus question de parler de dissonnance à éviter ou d'harmonie à rechercher : le concept qui guide ce duo c'est " l'harmonance ", mélange des deux, certainement pas, plutôt un essai pour lier les notes, les faire advenir et donner corps à la musique. Nous touchons finalement peut-être au plus près de l'harmonie, celle qui nous ravit et nous enthousiasme à chaque fois. Jazzosphere
