J a z z - P a s s i o n

23. Le coin des anglophones / A place for English language.

Guitarist and composer Michael FELBERBAUM

has recorded his first project as a leader,

MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

"SHARP WATER",

album released on NOCTURNE in April 2004,

featuring :

Diego IMBERT - acoustic bass,

Matthieu DONARIER - soprano and tenor saxes,

Karl JANNUSKA - drums.

"...Michael Felberbaum asserts himself as a tremendous composer."
Jean-Baptiste Olivier - Le Monde de la Musique July/August 2004

"...If I had to qualify both composition and interpretation, I would say elegant, limpid, poetic and beautiful."
Sylvain Luc about "Sharp Water", Jazzman and Jazz Magazine

"... the guitar's radiant wisdom and melodic depth at times evoke Bill Frisell..."
Jérôme Plasseraud - Jazz Magazine June 2004

"...a revelation, with his wonderfully chiselled guitar lines."
Felix Marciano, Jazzman

"...Michael Felberbaum plays with intense lyricism and extreme intelligence..."
L'avis de la FNAC

" We appreciate the guitarist Michael Felberbaum's inventiveness, which contributes to making Bex' adventure plural and timeless."
Michel Contat, Telerama

MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

SHARP WATER

Present of musician

PRESS RELEASES "SHARP WATER"

Composer Michael Felberbaum's voice
Jazzman - June 2004

" Raised in Rome in an American family of Central European ancestry, this guitarist is at once a nomad, deep-rooted and sedentary. In Boston where he spent five years, he regularly played with Mark Turner's, as well as being resident along with Kurt Rosenwinkel at Wally's Cafe where Antonio Hart and Roy Hargrove were at that time the most assiduous of the young lions to elbow in among the veterans of "free" and "bop". Settling in Paris in 1991, he played with Steve Potts every Wednesday for five years. It was an opportunity to test his continuing composer's vocation. "I need to play my compositions to get the best out of them", he insists, which is quite at the opposite of the "innovative" jazz credo. In this sense, he is an heir to Pat Martino (but get him talk about Wes, Charlie Christian and Bill FrisellÉ), Jackie McLean and Wayne Shorter. He owes his writing to the latter, to this strange contraband disguised in an elegant suit. He also owes his writing to his teacher, Jon Damian, who taught him how to borrow from serialism to develop his compositions by forcing the most natural melodies out of their structural and metric frame and, to some extent, of themselves, without losing their vocality. With Matthieu Donarier on sax, Diego Imbert on doublebass and Karl Jannuska on drums, he chose the most suitable musicians to play these compositions and confidently reroute the audience, who are so enchanted they suspect nothing."

Franck Bergerot
Translation of Franck Bergerot's chronicle in Jazzman - June 2004

Le Monde de la Musique
July/August 2004

" Living in Paris for several years (he regards Paris as the most interesting city for jazz in Europe), Michael Felberbaum has rapidly established himself on the French scene. From one collaboration to another (a trio with Emmanuel Bex and Aldo Romano, the quartet of saxophonist Steve Potts), the American guitarist first attracted attention with an inventive duo (with trombonist Daniel Casimir) before proposing this perfectly attuned quartet.

" With a relaxed time-feel (in the spirit of his elder John Scofield when he plays along with Joe Lovano, whom Matthieu Donarier reminds us of a bit), Michael Felberbaum asserts himself as a tremendous composer as well. More complex than they appear to be, especially on the metric level, his structures also offer space for remarkable solo partners. Native of Canada, drummer Karl Jannuska seems to be able to play everything, from pulsation to suggestive colors. On doublebass, Diego Imbert reveals a wider register than the "classic" one we appreciated in him beside Bireli Lagrène. And on sax, Matthieu Donarier plays with conciseness and intensity, an ideal response to the leader's haunted phrasing."

Jean-Baptiste Olivier
Translation of Jean-Baptiste Olivier's chronicle in Le Monde de la Musique - July/August 2004

Jazz Magazine,
July/August 2004

" We saw him three years ago as he played a duo with trombonist Daniel Casimir ("Diffuse Useful Overtones", Geenjay), found him again in Toufic Farroukh's "Absolut Orkestra" and Pierre de Bethmann's "Ilium", and then recently with Daniel Casimir for a strings and brass album ("Eros & Thanatos", disque d' émoi in Jazz Magazine n° 547).

" Today he is back as a leader: living in France for more than ten years (his accent reveals his American origins), he first studied in Boston with Gary Burton and John Abercrombie before moving to France and working with Emmanuel Bex, Steve Potts, Guy Lafitte and François Théberge, among others. "If I had to qualify both composition and interpretation on this first record, I would say elegant, limpid, poetic and beautiful": appearing on the sleeve of Sharp Water, such is Sylvain Luc's point of view, and we do agree. Let's add that the alloy of guitar (the radiant wisdom and melodic depth at times evoke Bill Frisell) and Matthieu Donarier's saxophones (tenor and soprano) provides the music a certain river-like aspect, because of a perfect balance between arrangements and timbres which are never excessive. Nothing seems to disturb ones listening the length of this graceful hour, and we bet that was Felberbaum's purpose."

Jérôme Plasseraud
Translation of Jérôme Plasseraud's chronicle in Jazz Magazine, July/August 2004

 

© Copyright Michael FELBERBAUM, 2005.
Page maintained by Christian Boullangier for Jazz-Passion, January 2005.

THE NEW ALBUM (GINO SITSON "Bamisphere" Featuring

RON CARTER, JEFF "TAIN" WATTS, ESSIET ESSIET & HELIO ALVES)

IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE US.

PLEASE CHECK OUT: <www.ginositson.com> FOR MORE INFO

Special Evenings: Come and discover a sample of Gino Sitsonís new tunes (to appear in his next album "Bamisphere", which has just been recorded with Ron Carter, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Essiet Essiet & Helio Alves).

New York-based Cameroonian vocal virtuoso GINO SITSON was nominated for the KORA AWARDS 2003 (the equivalent in Africa of the American ìGrammy Awardsî)

Best Artist - Africa
Best Artist - Central Africa

www.koraawards.com

Stay tuned !
Christopher Kendricks
Web Editor(www.ginositson.com)

PRESS

LOS ANGELES TIMES:

" an extraordinarily pliable voice in settings rich with melody, emotion and rhythm; his gift for melody and his persuasive powers for interpretation establish an instant connection for listeners; always fascinating."
Don Heckman

ALL MUSIC GUIDE **** ˝ :

" he's someone who loves and caresses every note. Whether you can understand his words or not, the meaning is always abundantly clear from his tone."
Chris Nickson

ROOTS WORLD:

"the meditative virtuosity of Sitson's solo work is clear, and his voice conveys a pristine, complex instrumental tonality."
Michael Stone

LE MONDE:

" Gino Sitson is a real vocal acrobat: he sings with fabulous ease and obvious humor developing a register where African traditions come across jazz and blues."

 

JAZZ REVIEW.COM:

" An entertaining performer with a unique style of delivery, he will find a large listening audience in the USA..."

WWW.ESTACIONTIERRA.COM :

" Ya desde "Ngoyak", la canciÛn que abre el ·lbum, Gino Sitson deja en claro que lo suyo es la virtuosidad."
Jorge Maldonado

THE VILLAGE VOICE:

" Great Cameroonian singer Gino Sitson, adept at body percussion...with a thing for African jazz."

 

© Copyright Gino SITSON, 2005.
Page maintained by Christian Boullangier for Jazz-Passion, April 2005.