Contrabajo
Soundbrush, 2018
8/10
A body of work created for bass and string quartet, Pablo Aslan brings his Argentinian roots into jazz and tango influenced arrangements to Contrabajo, where the Cuarteto Petrus ensemble help flesh out the varied listen.
“Preludio No. 1” starts the listen with intricate and soothing strings in the classical yet playful approach, and “Confluencias” follows with a quieter delivery where Aslan’s bass acrobatics guide the setting.
Near the middle, “Tanguajira” has the strings dancing around Paquito D’ Rivera’s strong clarinet prowess, while “Come Sunday” moves with a dreamy quality of orchestral ideas. “Tango Para Cuerdas”, the album highlight, then offers a more dramatic piece of incredible musicianship.
Late in the listen, “Riendo Suelto” recruits a sharp cinematic quality, and “La Cumparsita” exits the listen with an bandoneon on one of the most adventurous tunes that’s constantly shifting in tempo and mood.
An extremely involved project that included commissioning pieces all across the globe as Aslan recorded solo parts by himself, Contrabajo is a fascinating, complex listen that doesn’t take long to settle in nicely.
Travels well with: Pablo Ziegler Chamber Quartet- Radiotango; David Finck- BASSically Jazz