Dino Saluzzi & Anja Lechner - Ojos Negros (2007) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/96kHz]

Few artists have as rich and varied a history with ECM as Dino Saluzzi. The Argentine bandoneon master has recorded 10 albums, and each one tells it's own endlessly inventive musical story. The spirit of Dino Saluzzi's work is derived from the oral tradition of Argentina's music and its value on melody and simplicity. A 1996 collaboration with the Munichbased Rosamunde Quartett became the starting point for Saluzzi's work with cellist Anja Lechner. Lechner has had her own success on ECM, most notably with her album, the hit Chants, Hymns and Dances. For the past six years, Saluzzi and Lechner have performed in concert all over Europe. "Ojos Negros" is the first recording from this magical duo, and creates a richly lyrical dialogue that blurs the lines between folk music, jazz and tango. This is chamber music with Argentine traditions, presented through Saluzzi compositions and the beautiful old tango tune "Ojos negros (Black Eyes)".

Argentinean bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi and German cellist Anja Lechner don't like to have their work characterized as tango, although it clearly has its roots in the tango tradition. They see their collaborations more as organic, abstract musical expressions, some improvised and some based on preexisting pieces, each performance of which is unique, unencumbered by the necessity to reproduce an earlier musical experience. The fact that they create such deeply felt and mutually attuned performances is a testimony to the years they've committed to listening to and learning from each other. Some of the works have the sound and feel of tangos, but the freedom and inventiveness and expressivity Saluzzi and Lechner bring to the pieces deepens them into something more than dances – they have the subtlety and sophistication of the best chamber music played with the spontaneity of jazz. The expert engineering by Manfred Eicher emphasizes the intimacy of the collaboration; the tiny sounds of the bandoneon's mechanics are audible, as though the listener were sitting very close, and the bandoneon and the cello are so beautifully blended that sometimes it's not immediately obvious where one instrument begins and the other leaves off. Anyone who loves Piazzolla's music should find much to appreciate in Saluzzi and Lechner's soulful and lyrical playing and in their unique take on that tradition.

Tracklist:

01 - Tango A Mi Padre
02 - Minguito
03 - Esquina
04 - Duetto
05 - Ojos Negros
06 - El Titere
07 - Carretas
08 - Serenata

Produced by Manfred Eicher. Engineered by Markus Heiland.
Recorded in April 2006 at Kulturbuehne AmBach in Goetzis, Austria.

Musicians:
Dino Saluzzi - bandoneón
Anja Lechner - cello


Thanks to the Original customer!