On the group’s first album, The Braxtornette Project (released, as all of their recordings are, on the Umlaut imprint), they toggled endlessly between material composed by Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton, drawing unexpected connections as they swapped themes and revisited licks, shuffling the internalized material like a deck of cards.įor the group’s second album, Die Hochstapler Plays The Music Of Alvin P. The quartet’s strength resides in its quicksilver improvisational instincts, collectively responding to on-the-fly cues to accept or reject new material from its repertoire in real time. The intuitive rapport between the member’s Die Hochstapler (German for the Impostors) - trumpeter Louis Laurain, bassist Antonio Borghini, drummer Hannes Lingens and alto saxophonist Pierre Borrel - seemed in place from the very start. The members of this French-Italian-German quartet came together in 2011, but they’ve also performed in plenty of other contexts. “You need to be on stage and tell people about Ukraine.We need people to understand who Ukrainians are.” -Tina Edwards “Music is your weapon,” she said, recounting her mother’s advice. Now, I feel almost guilty to openly celebrate my musical success because there are people who suffer and who simply need food or shelter,” she said.īzhezhinska reflected on a recent phone call where she told her mom that she wants to go home to Lviv. It was one of the best things that has happened to me musically. “For two years of the pandemic I was holding onto this album, and finally I signed with BBE. Bzhezhinska hoped to see her family who live in Lviv - if only for a moment. She spoke to DownBeat days before taking relief items to her war-torn home, the Ukraine. I speak four or five languages, but my main language is music.”īzhezhinska’s excitement for the release of Reflections is being juggled with devastation.

After I traveled, I realized that I’m a person of the world. With my studies, I’ve traveled around the world - America, Germany, Poland and now I’m here in Britain. “You know, when I played music as a child, I never wanted to be a musician from the Soviet Union.

When I made my album, I knew I wanted to do this special tribute.”ĭoes Bzhezhinska feel like a member of the European jazz scene? Not quite. She was the woman that I always wanted to be. She had radio programs supporting Black musicians. “Dorothy Ashby has been my hero for a very long time,” Bzhezhinska said. It opens with a soaring and funky take on Dorothy Ashby’s “Soul Vibrations.” Set for release in the autumn is Reflections, a combination of original tracks and covers that will be released by BBE Records. As a teeanger, I wore a leather jacket, cut my hair off and was in a rock band,” she laughed. “All my life, I’ve been fighting the stereotypes that come with playing the harp. My goal is to show people that the harp can be a leading instrument,” said London-based harpist Alina Bzhezhinska. “I try to present my instrument with a strong voice. ‘I speak four or five languages, but my main language is music’

Pocket mirror ost chemical presence