The versatile Greek pianist has already outlined a broad arc of musical possibility in his recordings for ECM – from post-Bill Evans jazz with Arild Andersen to explorations of Gurdjieff’s nomadic sound-world with Anja Lechner. “The Promise” picks up the implications of his earlier solo recital “Akroasis” (“Hypnotic and mysterious, shimmering like ancient mosaics” – The Independent), but is more rigorously composed, carefully casting arpeggios into deep pools of silence. All pieces are Tsabropoulos originals, with the exception of “Djivaeri”, a Greek traditional tune. The album was recorded in 2008 in the resonant space of Athens’ Megaron Concert Hall, with Manfred Eicher producing.
The Promise
Vassilis Tsabropoulos
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05:07 - 2Tale Of A Man
06:00 - 3Smoke And Mirrors
06:59 - 4Pearl
03:10 - 5The Promise
05:14 - 6The Other, var. I
03:50 - 7Djivaeri
04:43 - 8The Insider
07:01 - 9Confession
03:56 - 10Promenade
04:57 - 11The Other, var. II
04:01
Although 90% of the music is written – the material was composed within a comparatively short period of some weeks before being recorded – it maintains the dreamy elasticity of spontaneously improvised ballads. “It is most important to me to work with a wide array of sonic colours in an almost orchestral mode. In some passages I imagine to have a string ensemble at hand, sometimes it’s a wind soloist I’m trying to evoke. Every single note has to be shaded and weighed most carefully, they all have to be treated as being part of a larger melodic line.” In his most recent music, Tsabropoulos who still today performs some of the great piano concertos on the concert platform quite deliberately relinquishes all virtuosity and outward effect. “It can be very easy to play many fast notes, however, for me, it’s a principle of life that less is more: simplicity is the most difficult thing to achieve. Both as performer and as a listener I’m trying to find beauty inside the things, in details and nuances and in parts which are not so obvious.” The listener is thus asked to take his time with the music, to concentrate and to discover his own path – therein lies the “promise” of this record.
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