Hungary-based BMC Records is quietly building up an impressive catalogue of adventurous modern jazz recordings. The latest is an ambitious session led by Hans Ludemann, who plays both piano and virtual piano for the ensemble of Yves Robert/tb, Aleandra/ts-ss, Silke Eberhard/as-cl-bcl, Regis Huby/v, Ronny Graupe/g, Sebastien Boisseau/b and Dejan Terzic/dr, with the oud, guembri and voice of Majid Bekkas being featured on many of the pieces.
The mix of oud and violin make for a folksy drama with Eberhard’s clarinet on part of the “On The Edges Suite”, while Bekkas’ voice is urgent with the tensile strings that trudge around Ludemann’s solo on “Lamjarred”. The reeds get fluffy around Robert’s trombone for the intricate “Sahara Variations” with the melancholic harmonies agonizingly floating during “Ashura”. Lots of dreamy landscapes, seascapes and soundscapes to imbibe.