La Campagnie des Musiques à Ouïr+
La Manivelle magyare
BMC (www.bcmrecords.hu)

I have to admit it: this is one weird recording. Unclassifiable, morbidly serious one moment and then floor-rolling funny the next (and it could not be otherwise with titles like "Winnie the Pooh joins Europe"). I've been listening to it on and off for many months, trying to make some sense of it. I have been beaten; I can't make any sense of it. So, yes, it is a weird record, but it is also a very interesting one.

It's more jazz than ethnic, in a collaboration of musicians from France and Hungary: Denis Charolles, Frederic Gastard, Christophe Monniot and Gábor Gadó, Béla Szakcsi and Balázs Bujtor play percussion, trombone, bass, quite a number of saxophones, guitar, piano and violin. These elements are placed in an atonal mix to create a head-on collision of hardcore free jazz, the classical tradition of Mittel Europa, and maybe techno with a generous sprinkling of Disney.

For those who can hang in there, it will be splendid chaos, done with panache and good humor. If you are one who hears the words "free jazz" and wants to flee, this is your cue: start running, because it doesn't get any freer or jazzier than this. - Nondas Kitsos

CD available from cdRoots

Looking for More Information? © 2007 RootsWorld. No reproduction of any part of this page or its associated files is permitted without express written permission.