PIERRE DØRGE — Blui (review)

PIERRE DØRGE — Blui album cover Album · 2015 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
snobb
I really enjoy the return of guitars jazz popularity during some last years. Being one of important instruments in 60s, it lost its attraction with fusion revolution,which first stole it and then shamelessly destroyed it with myriads of unimaginably shredders and three-chord copycats.

With coming of a new century guitar timidly returned to jazz scenes backstage, and the second decade evidences true guitar jazz renaissance.

Danish guitarist Pierre Dorge in his late 60 is far not a newbie, he played with John Tchicai and led New Jungle Orchestra for decades. But it's probably the fashion of the day is what pushed him to record guitar quartet album - really rare case in his prolific discography."Blui", recorded in New York last December with international quartet,is released on SteepleChase label, what is another quite unusual event. Danish SteepleChase is most probably European leading mainstream jazz label for decades. Searching for quality hard bop or conservative post bop album one can literally chose any SteepleChase release even if artist's name say him nothing - one will hardly make a mistake here.

"Blui" isn't mainstream jazz album at all. Those not familiar with Pierre Dorge music most probably know at least two of three his collaborators - Americans veteran drummer Hamid Drake and younger generation's New York-based clarinetist Kirk Knuffke are both well known to adventurous jazz fans.

"Blui" contains perfectly played by four equal excellent musicians well-framed free form tuneful jazz, mostly mid-tempo or even slow in moments, relaxed but no way lazy. Quartet mixes hard-bop with klezmer,North African and Middle Eastern rhythms producing rarely beautiful and quite accessible music,full of internal harmony and radiating positive energy. Oppositely to domination of scratchy and angry noisy destructive guitar bands around on both European and American scenes, Dorge quartet's aesthetics are closer to 50s beatniks or 60s hippies without sliding to noodling or esoteric meditative.

At the same time, album's music generally sounds quite modern, not without help of New York downtown-influenced Kirk Knuffke clarinet soloing.

Very good album melting best elements from past and current,different cultures' influences but what is even more important - rare high quality modern jazz album, radiating so big amount of positive energy.
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