The New Quartet brings together four exceptional performers with greatly varied backgrounds to create works that cross musical boundaries and find common ground between different world music traditions. Peoria saxophonist & flutist Greg Ward is a sideman with some of Chicago’s straight-ahead jazz masters. Israeli violinist Carmel Raz is an experienced chamber musician and soloist in the European classical tradition. The Chicago rhythm section of bassist & guitarist Karl E. H. Seigfried and drummer & percussionist Chris Avgerin anchors many groups on the cutting of edge of both jazz and rock in the city.
BLUE RHIZOME, their debut recording for Imaginary Chicago Records, is now available as CD or MP3.
From the liner notes to BLUE RHIZOME by composer Karl E. H. Seigfried:
The composition of this piece was inspired by a crisis of faith. Not religious faith, but faith in humanity. 150 years from now, it is guaranteed that everyone now alive will be in the ground or consumed by flames. There will be no exceptions. All our efforts, dreams, and hopes will end as all biographies must.
In these few years that we have of consciousness and life, we divide ourselves into tribes. Our choice of friends, lovers, and colleagues is based on comfort with what we see as members of our own group. Ethnicity, race, religion, culture, and nationality are used as an excuse to shut out love, new experiences, challenges to our habits, and expansion of our experiences. The Other is judged and the Like is embraced, whether consciously or not.
The movement titles of BLUE RHIZOME plot the psychological trajectory of the piece. "The Blue & the Black" reflects the sadness and despair of those wandering between tribes. A retreat into the "Fortress of Solitude" leads to a meditation on the transitory nautre of life in "We Will All Become Ash." The possibility of finding common ground manifests in "Gopalnath," named for the great Carnatic saxophonist from India. "Destroy All Monsters" represents the anger that can grow out of sadness, whether the Monster is racism, sexism, or the Snake That Encircles the World. "A Distant Beauty" raises the glimmer of hope that we may find kindred spirits across tribal lines. This hope reaches its final expression in the idea that "Sometimes, There Is Love."
Musically, the piece is one continuous work divided into nine movements. The overture introduces themes stated and developed in tracks 3, 5, 6, & 7. The interludes are non-thematic and are based on time (groove) structures; each features a different member of the group.
This piece reflects my love for several different musical traditions: jazz, rock, hip hop, Carnatic music, and New Music (among others). I make no claim to write in these traditions authentically. Everything is filtered through my impressions of these musics the performers' interpretation of my ideas. In exploring these different musical languages, I heard the Blues running through all of them like a root--a BLUE RHIZOME.
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“Echte Empfehlung für Offenherzige!”
- Aufabwegen Magazin (Germany)
“Organic and coherent to the novice and the aficionado alike.”
- Chicago Weekly
“Recommended to jazz fans bored by conventional jazz categories.”
- The Improvisor
“From Chicago comes yet another collective filled with imagination and purpose.”
- Cadence
"Seigfried has formed collaborations that celebrate diversity and high-level musicianship."
- Jazz Institute of Chicago Jazzgram
“The improvisational precision is crisp, and balance of musical styles provides a complex lushness. A virtuoso performance so stunning in concept and execution, it must be heard to be believed.”
- Illinois Entertainer
“Jazz, folklore, metal, rock and blues meet to create a singular world of sound. What it all boils down to is the ancient cry of the human soul that is also heard in the blues: a cry for freedom that can't be bound. It's a freedom that is mimicked in the work of BLUE RHIZOME—that of breaking all musical chains while still being rooted in tradition.”
- All About Jazz
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Thanks guys, playing together would be great, I'll keep the idea in the back of my mind and let you know if I'll be passing by Chicago. All best wishes for your work! Stefan
no problem......... luv the music guyz...... will 2 try and make it out to the show at the velvet room.... the soul power trio sounds pretty interesting too...take care
Hey there! Lead Guitar harmonies? Would be great to make it happen soon! Chichago is a great city that I'd love to visit some day! Lots of Irish there!
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