FULLMOONS — Live in Studio (review)

FULLMOONS — Live in Studio album cover Album · 2009 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
Greek band ‘Fullmoons’ blend rock, folk and funk with jazz on their ‘Live in Studio’ album, released independently before the untimely death of their guitarist in 2011.

There’s a jazzy-overtone to the music, in terms of the improvisational aspects, or the hard-bop like trading off of solos, but at the same time there’s a varied approach to the rhythm section and song structure that is at times, more in the vein of rock and progressive rock.

The liner notes reveal that “all tracks were recorded live in one take within a day…we sacrificed the artificial perfection that editing can provide because we wanted to preserve improvisation and to capture one moment in time, sounding exactly like we do when we perform live” which is great, the band sound together and the solos are neither lost nor overbearing in the mix. Generally speaking, it is Yiannis Legakis’ soprano and tenor saxophones, along with Yiannis Apostolidis’ guitar that are given the bulk of spotlight, though this doesn’t detract from the group feel, especially on ‘Funky Moon’, ‘Half Smile’ or the cruising ‘Tuesday Afternoon’ where both bassist Kostas Simatos and drummer Yiannis Varthalitis seem to catch the ear more often.

For me what appeals most on ‘Live in Studio’ is the Greek folk music influences, which at times have a bit of an epic sweep and other times bring a more traditional sound, blended with the funk or rock approach. ‘Byduska’ for instance, which bassist Kostas Simatos told me is the name of a traditional folk dance commonly found in South Balkans and Northern Greece, has a kind of charged feel to its upbeat tempo, and with the haunting (if short) sax solo, is probably my favourite piece on the album. I do have a fondness for music which blends cultural approaches, and on that level ‘Live in Studio’ is highly satisfying. ‘Pondos’ is similar – it’s almost warlike-feel evoking the bloody history of Greece and Turkey. Yiorgos Lellis’s keyboards star here, ranging from menacing textures to a nimble electric piano that at times floats over subtle shifts in the beat. In fact, Lellis employs more than a few sounds throughout the album, sometimes providing flute or other horns to give the band a fuller sound.

‘Fegaraki’ (Little Moon) also makes effective use of folk material before the beat slows to a Pink Floyd-like tempo for another of Apostolidis’ blazing guitar solos, in a build-up approach that’s revisited on the closing track, which perhaps more than any other song on the album works as an extended showcase for solos from the principal players.

I’d have loved to hear even more folk-influence on this album, but as it is I got a good dose of it, in an at times high energy, at times funky, at times moody, and even once, swinging album of jazz rock.

A big thanks to Kostas for the review copy.
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