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Out of Africa and Around the World / Denis Azabagic
Cedille

Out of Africa and Around the World / Denis Azabagic

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Details

Composer
DENIS AZABAGIC ATANAS OURKOUZ
Artist
Denis Azabagic
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Cedille
Released
Oct 29, 2013
Catalog #
CDR 7005
UPC
735131700528

About

Multi-award winning guitarist Denis Azabagic invites listeners into a realm where world, folk, and classical music intersect on Out of Africa...and Around the Word, the Bosnia-born, Chicago-based virtuoso’s first solo album on Cedille Records. Thomas weaves together strands of African singing styles, scales and rhythms, while paying homage to African string instruments, such as the kora and the oud.

REVIEW:

Acclaimed guitarist Denis Azabagic’s newest CD,  Out of Africa , features attractive works by some of today’s leading guitarist/composers. Bulgarian Atanas Ourkouzounov’s contribution is a captivating series of Variations on Pozaspa li iagodo? (Are you sleeping, Strawberry?). The rhythmically driven, harmonically inventive first variation comes as a startling surprise after the gentle simplicity of the opening statement. A slow, minor-tinged variation follows, with interspersed harmonics dotting the sustained soundscape. Variation three combines flowing figures with a recap of the first variation’s hectic pace, helped along by sharp accents and forceful dynamics. Next, a partly muted, subtly dissonant episode gives way to an invigorating half-Bulgarian, half-Greek Finale.

As revealed in the booklet notes, Vojislav Ivanovic’s Café Pieces were undertaken as a lark but, be that as it may, the results far surpass their frivolous beginnings: heard as a group they comprise a beautiful suite of music in the South American style, filled with lovely melodies, exciting rhythms, and humor. At one point, Tango Café (the third of the set) seems to quote the Russian/Gypsy song Ochi chyornye (Dark Eyes), but that may be coincidental: in all other respects, it’s a pitch perfect homage to Astor Piazzolla. The mildly melancholy Nostalgia , a tremolo study, offers guitarists an appealing alternative to Tarrega’s ubiquitous Recuerdos de la Alhambra.

Azabagic plays Carlos Rafael Rivera’s Canción more than a minute faster than various YouTube performances, but with no diminution in sentiment or liquidity of phrasing. For such a short piece—1:35 as played here—that’s a significant difference, almost twice as fast as the others.
REVIEW:

In his synopsis of his  Blues and 7 Variations , Dusan Bogdanovi? explains that “The seeming incongruity of idioms and compositional styles” reflects his interest “in developing a widely based musical world.” That global perspective is immediately apparent in the 13-bar (instead of the traditional 12) Blues at the heart of the piece, cast in 9/8, a meter more common to the Balkans than the American South. Bogdanovi?’s self-described “virtuoso set of variations” calls for great speed, fluency, and panache, attributes Azabagic has in spades; I’m guessing that this stunning performance will prove a benchmark for years to come.

Alan Thomas conceived his suite Out of Africa as a series of impressions inspired by African “styles of singing … additive rhythms, irregular metric groupings, and pentatonic or pandiatonic scales.” Besides being subliminally linked in this way, the various movements together paint a musical portrait of idealized daily life. Call at Sunrise welcomes the dawn with a catchy tune “presented in canon that gradually develops into a vibrant ostinato and vocalic melody” (Thomas). A joyous Morning Dance follows, and as the sun attains its Zenith, the sound of the oud is heard in the land: Azabagic convincingly imitates the characteristic microtonal sound by playing on a detuned string. I don’t know if Thomas consulted the Arabic maqam system of modes as he composed the music, but either way it’s a compelling bit of orientalism. After a last festive Evening Dance , the tender (and tenderly played) Cradle Song brings the suite to a quiet close. All told, Azabagic’s idiomatic, technically flawless performances of this colorful repertoire should be required listening for guitar lovers everywhere.

FANFARE: Robert Schulslaper

Tracklist 14 tracks

  1. 1 Folk Song Variations 06:54
    Track
    1
    Title
    Folk Song Variations
    Duration
    06:54
    Composer
    Atanas Ourkouzounov
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  2. 2 No. 2. Tear Prelude 03:05
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Tear Prelude
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Vojislav Ivanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  3. 3 No. 4. Funny Valse 03:37
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 4. Funny Valse
    Duration
    03:37
    Composer
    Vojislav Ivanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  4. 4 No. 1. Tango Cafe 04:34
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 1. Tango Cafe
    Duration
    04:34
    Composer
    Vojislav Ivanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  5. 5 No. 5. Nostalgia, Tremolo study 04:23
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. Nostalgia, Tremolo study
    Duration
    04:23
    Composer
    Vojislav Ivanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  6. 6 No. 6. Lullaby 04:56
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 6. Lullaby
    Duration
    04:56
    Composer
    Vojislav Ivanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  7. 7 No. 3. Improvisation and Dance 04:37
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 3. Improvisation and Dance
    Duration
    04:37
    Composer
    Vojislav Ivanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  8. 8 Cancion 01:35
    Track
    8
    Title
    Cancion
    Duration
    01:35
    Composer
    Carlos Rafael Rivera
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  9. 9 Blues and 7 Variations 05:46
    Track
    9
    Title
    Blues and 7 Variations
    Duration
    05:46
    Composer
    Dušan Bogdanović
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  10. 10 Call at Sunrise 03:41
    Track
    10
    Title
    Call at Sunrise
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Alan Thomas
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  11. 11 Morning Dance 03:05
    Track
    11
    Title
    Morning Dance
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Alan Thomas
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  12. 12 Zenith 12:55
    Track
    12
    Title
    Zenith
    Duration
    12:55
    Composer
    Alan Thomas
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  13. 13 Evening Dance 04:20
    Track
    13
    Title
    Evening Dance
    Duration
    04:20
    Composer
    Alan Thomas
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic
  14. 14 Cradle Song 03:03
    Track
    14
    Title
    Cradle Song
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Alan Thomas
    Performer
    Denis Azabagic