Album Review: Discovery from Marton Juhasz

Album:  Discovery

Artist:  Marton Juhasz

Label:  Self-Released

Website:  www.martonjuhasz.com

Working with a diverse palette that consists of jazz-inspired motifs, guitar fusion chord patterns, and inventive improvisations, drummer and bandleader Marton Juhasz takes travelers across a broad spectrum of soundscapes on his CD Discovery, merging eastern and western influences.  For example, the dark and ominous tone of Olga Konkova's piano keys make divots along "Industry," displaying a western influence reminiscent of jazz noir, which fuses with the eastern influences of tribal chants and tingling chimes of the guitar strings.  The two diverse worlds collide, and form contrasting colors that are sonically dissonant and complementing, achieving an attractive balance.

The R&B grooves strung along "Stino" support the soaring aerials of Yumi Ito's scatting vocals as Sergio Wagner's improvisations on the horn weave intricate figures along the track, adding dimension.  A polyphonic drizzle of patterns comprised of abstract streaks created by the horns spiral and cascade capriciously across "Wolves Gather," embodying digital age textures.  Ito's vocals permeate a loving sentiment through "Spellbound" as Enrique Oliver's saxophone courses a poetic score that enhances the amorous mood.  The splashing ringlets made by the horns are layered in rattling percussions and shimmering cymbals along "Strange Glow," brandishing a digital age synthesis partially encased in traditional jazz-imbued motifs.

The free-thinking process implemented by the musicians combine traditional themes with inventive improvisations that pair eastern and western influences.  Embracing a post-avant garde age, Juhasz and his collaborators make compositions that evolve organically and speak of the polyphonic patterns possible in the present digital age.

Musicians:

Marton Juhasz - drums, composition
Yumi Ito - vocals, text on "Spellbound"
Sergio Wagner - trumpet, flugelhorn
Paco Andreo - valve trombone
Enrique Oliver - tenor saxophone
Szymon Mika - guitar
Olga Konkova - piano, fender Rhodes
Danny Ziemann - upright bass