Sticks out in front.
Drumming and directing traffic, Dafnist Prieto’s Si o Si Quartet brings together Peter Apfelbaum/ss-ts-fl, Martin Bejerano/p and Ricky Rodriguez/eb for an upbeat mix of clever originals. Apfelbaum’s soprano goes along Prieto’s funky feel on “Humanoid” and takes the baton from the leader on the festive “Conga Ingenua, wile is tenor rides the Coltrane waters on the intense “Two Sides of the Coin”. Bejerano does a wild duet with the leader during the middle of “Temptation” that has the sparks flying, and the team dresses up in the elegant “The Happiest Boy In Town”. Prieto leads by serving.
Finnish drummer Antonio Dayyani brings together Cahlo Heyman Kill-Carlo Dayyani/g, Magnus Munk Taekker/psg, Andrea Maagaard/p, Harold Hagelskjaer/b and Jon Askjaer/tp-fh for a wide range of moods. Atmospheres include a pedal steel’d Spaghetti Western theme on “Vem Kan Segla Forutan Vind?” and some dreamy soundscapes on “Wow, Def Er Nat”. Askjaer’s horn sighs on “Snefald Pa Lyravej” and the gentle “Melankolsk Sett” and acoustic guiyar strums create a lovely folk ballad on “Hard Urge”. Pastoral portraits.