Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Krai (2014) [Hi-Res]

„The vast expanse is felt in this music, a deep breath and a long wind, the delight in contemplative walking tours and in daring tonal excursions, an aspiration to new freedoms and simultaneously also a fine sense for that which is worth preserving, valuable, and fragile. The dialogue partners, both world-class performers on their instruments, reveal an inwardness that at the same time reflects upon the how and where. “Krai” has the same meaning in Ukrainian and in Russian. The word refers to a region, a place, a topos; and it can just as well indicate a border or an endpoint.

Both proved to be essential for the biographical experiences of Vadim Neselovskyi, who grew up in Ukraine, moved to Germany at the age of seventeen, and joined Gary Burton’s band while at the Berklee College of Music, as well as those of Arkady Shilkloper, who was born in Moscow, studied at the renowned Gnessin Institute, played in the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater, and since the early 1990s has caused an international furor with the “Moscow Art Trio.” Both musicians have made their mark in the world, and yet are rooted in the folklore of their native countries. Intimately familiar with Classical music, they have allowed their experiences with jazz to mature into improvisations that leave the borders behind – in the geographical as well as the musical sense. This binds them together, as does the love of endlessly wide landscapes with Ukrainian, Russian, and Jewish sources of life. In this duo’s playing, “Krai” becomes a kind of spiritual home that sheds the provincial and opens itself to new influences, becomes a place of memory and artistic imagination. In the boundless flight of musical fantasy, in an original and, at the same time, fresh spirit inspired by Romanticism, the two musicians paint luminous sounds of hope and freedom on an overcast sky.”

'It’s engrossing from the very first track, ‘Spring Song’, Neselovskyi’s vision utilising an assertive expansiveness that channels flow and rhythmic adventure in the more open passages. (...) More uniformly an all-pervasive, and persuasive chamber music work, that heady atmosphere prevails to work its undoubted charms' (Stephen Graham, Marlbank)

'Krai transcends the traditional and moves with a lyrical intensity that creates a unique hybrid of Ukranian, Russian and Jewish influences. A highly imaginative journey down the harmonic path of least resistance. Stunning!' (Brent Black, Criticaljazz.com)

Vadim Neselovskyi, piano
Arkady Shilkloper, French horn, alphorn

Tracklist:
01. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Spring Song (9:14)
02. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Krai (7:33)
03. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Alpine Sketch (4:23)
04. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Alperiduo 1 (2:11)
05. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Prelude for Vibes (6:34)
06. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Alperiduo 2 (1:02)
07. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Last Snow (8:01)
08. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Late Night Sunrise (7:38)
09. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Blackmail (2:41)
10. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Alpine Trail (2:24)
11. Arkady Shilkloper & Vadim Neselovskyi - Russian Song (3:59)