Gábor Ladányi - Reborn
G
Self-produced
There are always dilemmas for a musician releasing their first album; do you go for something spectacular and colourful or something more spacious and thoughtful? Do you make it a very personal expression or a group effort? Such questions are even more acute in these days of short attention spans and a thousand releases each day! The debut album by guitarist/composer Gábor Ladányi succeeds by being spacious, thoughtful, very much a group effort and revealing its colours gradually. Like a lot of the best European jazz, this takes American forms and adds different cultural ideas in a very organic way.
Alongside Ladányi's guitar the trio features Federico Pecoraro on bass and Umberto Odone on drums. They are always equal partners in driving the music along; the guitarist's compositions are carefully judged to provide an architecture for improvisation without cramping the player's style. The trio met when studying at the jazz department of Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels from 2015 to 2019 and are based in Brussels; Ladányi is Hungarian whilst Pecoraro and Odone are Italian.
The title track was written the night that Gábor almost lost his whole family in an accident. It evokes the eerie calm after a storm with something of a Pat Metheny feel - there's a timeless quality and the music builds gently to a superb bass solo. "Lazi" has an infectious martial beat and takes us into more Jon Scofield territory. "Message from a beer cap" introduces guest sax player Tony Lakatos with really interesting syncopation and a post-bop theme in unison between sax and guitar, swinging like crazy. I was reminded of Nigel Price's quartet work.
"Late night walk" introduces another tone colour with slow attack chorus guitar then a strong improvised counterpoint between guitar and bass. Although the form and harmony are not that unusual, there is enough conviction and inventiveness to give the album a distinctive voice. The intimate recorded sound is a perfect foil for the musical ideas.
When the violin of Roby Lakatos joins for "Balkan taste" the composer's Hungarian roots become more visible and this track has impressive natural shifts in tempo and density, leading to a furious workout. Gábor has also been a member of Roby Lakatos Ensemble since 2018. "Brother's talk" adds both Lakatos brothers to the trio, with tempo changes which fuse Gypsy jazz and be-bop to great effect. Solos are traded between drums, violin and sax within a fine arrangement worthy of Martin Taylor's "Spirit of Django".
On "Hiding something" the guitar moves into bluesy distortion and the energy builds to an exciting climax of a different kind. "Snowdrops" starts with a Steve Cropper-esque funk riff on guitar leading to some great melodic improvisation from Ladányi. On track 11 "Blue Flame" we're introduced to acoustic guitar with some lovely contrary motion chording which returns the album to a reflective mood.
This is an impressively balanced debut which reveals colours and virtuosity gradually; a slow burner from a superb trio and an interesting composer.
© Stephen Godsall
Musicians:
Gábor Ladányi, guitar
Federico Pecoraro, bass
Umberto Odone, drums
Guests:
Tony Lakatos, saxophone
Roby Lakatos, violin
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