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Lajos Dudas: The Lake and the Music
ByFor these ten selections, Dudas is anchored by guitarist Philipp van Endert and drummer Kurt Billker and a collection of bassists, Martin Gjakonovski, Leonard Jones, and Vitold Rek. The result is an aggressive-progressive tone and attitude. To be sure, "The Lady is a Tramp" has never been heard like this. Endert takes a rock front-forward approach with his accompaniment giving the song a Miles Davis-circa-1970s vibe. His tone is fat and broad, freshly reckless and pioneering. The guitarist's interplay with Dudas is empathic and potent, driving the song's funky soul all the way into the red.
That is only the beginning of Endert's contributions. His playing transforms the old war horse "Sweet Georgia Brown" in ways not heard since Anita O'Day deconstructed the song in performance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. The guitarist sets up an undulating slowburn, allowing Dudas to introduce his slippery clarinet to the old notes in a new and novel way. Each principal solos off of and against the other creating an old/new dichotomy. This is transformatory.
Dudas and company do color beautifully between the lines on Atilla Zoller's breezy "A Thousand Dreams" and "Out of Nowhere." On Rezsö Seress's "Gloomy Sunday" Endert sets up a volume-dynamic background for Dudas to wring all that is melancholy from his clarinet, rendering the composition a Hungarian "Goodbye." The most entertaining piece is Dudas' neo-traditional take on the standard "All of Me," sparring with Gerd Dudek's soprano saxophone...think a cosmic Benny Goodman and Sidney Bechet reconstructing Bach's counterpoint. "A Foggy Day" is performed beautifully, making sore the point that Lajos Dudas is coming to rest in the studio.
Track Listing
The Lady Is a Tramp; Sweet Georgia Brown; A Thousand Dreams; Gloomy Sunday; Out of Nowhere; All of Me; A Foggy Day; Filthy McNasty; St. Thomas; But I..?.
Personnel
Lajos Dudas
clarinetPhilipp van Endert
guitar, electricMartin Gjakonovski
bass, acousticLeonard E. Jones
bass, acousticVitold Rek
bassKurt Billker
drumsKarl Berger
vibraphoneGerd Dudek
saxophone, sopranoAlbum information
Title: The Lake and the Music | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: JazzSick Records
Comments
Tags
Lajos Dudas
Album Reviews
C. Michael Bailey
The Lake and the Music
JazzSick Records
Philipp Van Endert
Kurt Billker
Martin Gjakonovski
Leonard Jones
Vitold Rek
Anita O'Day
Gerd Dudek